
Copyright)^?. 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE 



CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



IN 



GARDEN AND FIELD 



A MANUAL OF PRACTICE, WITH AND WITHOUT IRRIGA- 
TION, FOR SEMI-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 



SECOND EDITION — REVISED AND EXTENDED 



BY EDWARD J. WICKSON, A.M. 
Dean and Pi'ofessor of Agriculture in the College of Agriculture 
of the University of California; Director and Horticulturist 
of the Agricultural Experiment Station; Author of "Cali- 
fornia Fruits and How to Grow Them;" Editor of The Pacific 
Rural Press; Member of the National Council of Horticul- 
ture, etc. 



Pacific Rural Press 

san francisco 

1910 



^^ 






Copyright, 1910, 

BY 

EdWABU J. WiCKSON AND PACIFIC RUBAL PbESS. 



©CI.A273458 



PREFACE 

In view of the very appreciative reception which the 
public accorded to the first edition of this work and the 
urgent demand for its reappearance, it is deeply regretted 
by the writer that the present edition has been so long 
delayed. It seemed, however, unavoidable. The revision 
necessary to include later results of experience and obser- 
vation and extension to fitly include the advancement of 
certain vegetables in commercial volume and importance 
and the methods of handling them, largely developed by 
local study and experiment, have required much attention. 
In fact, the revision of the work has required a repetition 
of the same effort which was invoked in its initial prep- 
aration, and for which the following claim was made in 
the preface to the First Edition : 

"There are very good reasons why the task of preparing 
such a book has been so long delayed. The subject is 
appalling in its intricacy. Conditions of soil and climate 
in California are varied to the last degree, and practice 
must vary with them. No matter how skilful and success- 
ful a man may be in his particular locality, his experience 
can only be a safe guide to those who happen to work 
under similar conditions. For this reason, though there 
have been admirable local writers on garden practice from 
the beginning, their writings, no matter how diligently 
collected and how well printed, would not constitute a 
suggestive treatise unless the enquirer should analyze the 
local conditions and practice and translate them into 
terms of wide applicability. To do this it is necessary that 
the principles underlying the successful practice should be 
discerned and the significance of conditions be interpreted. 
This task could only be discharged by one who has had 
opportunity for wide collection of data, and for extended 
personal observation as well, and one for whom labor 
would be continually lightened by enthusiastic delight in 
the siTbject itself. All these advantages the writer can 



frankly claim, but how well they have been employed in 
this work it is for the reader to judge." 

In a work of this kind, involving the experience and 
observation of many individuals during a considerable 
period of time, it is impossible to render a full account 
of the writer's indebtedness. Whenever direct use has 
been made of the experience and methods which others 
have formulated, an attempt has been made to give defi- 
nite credit to the source. When such accounts of experi- 
ence are used without citation of publication credit is in 
most cases due to the columns of the Pacific Rural Press, a 
journal which has been the chief medium for publication 
of information of this kind for the last forty years. 

E. J. WiCKSON. 

University of California, Berkeley, August, 1910. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. Vegetable Growing in California 9 

II. Parmer's Gardens in California 19 

III. California Climate as Related to Vegetable Growing. 28 

IV. Vegetable Soils of California 37 

V. Garden Irrigation 47 

VI. Garden Drainage in California 74 

VII. Cultivation 81 

VIII. Fertilization 95 

Villa. Garden Protection 106 

VIII6. Weeds in California. 116 

VIIIc. Seed Growing in California 120 

IX. Garden Location and Arrangement 129 

X. The Planting Season 138 

XI. Propagation 155 

XII. Artichokes 172 

XIII. Asparagus 177 

XIV. Beans 188 

XV. Beet 206 

XVI. Cabbage Family 221 

XVII. Carrot, Parsnip, and Salsify 237 

XVIII. Celery 244 

XIX. Chicory 255 

XX. Corn 259 

XXI. Cucumber 266 

XXII. Egg Plant 270 

XXIII. Lettuce 272 

XXIV. Melons 277 

XXV. Onion Family 289 

XXVI. Peas 304 

XXVII. Peppers 311 

XXVIII. Potatoes 316 

XXIX. Radishes 328 

XXX. Rhubarb 331 

XXXI. Spinach 335 

XXXII. Squashes 337 

XXXIII. Tomato 342 

XXXIV. Turnip 351 

XXXV. Vegetable Sundries 353 



CHAPTER I. 
VEGETABLE GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 

Though California enjoys world-wide fame for fruits it 
is an interesting fact that the State first won horticultural 
recognition by achievements in vegetable growing. Gar- 
den seeds were more easily transported than trees and 
formed a part of the scant baggage of many gold-seekers. 
Seeds were also freely sent by home friends or quickly ob- 
tained on orders to Eastern dealers as soon as the agri- 
culturists among the argonauts saw their opportunity in 
the fabulous rates which esculents commanded. Results 
too were more quickly secured with garden seeds than 
with fruit trees. Only a few weeks after their planting 
the grower saw that he was dealing with forcing and de- 
veloping agencies in climate and soil more effective than 
any he had known in his old home and he was quite as sur- 
priesd at his own achievements as his Eastern friends were 
incredulous of his descriptions of them. They were ready 
to believe anything about gold, because their conception 
of a gold country involved its traditional right to be fa- 
bulous, but such a concession was not to be made to com- 
mon vegetables. Eastern people knew cabbages and beans 
and to attribute to them colossal dimensions and to allege 
that they grew from seed to succotash without a drop of 
rain was simply coarse lying. It is easy to see why a 
milder word would be considered inadequate, for the fol- 
lowing was one of California's first horticultural procla- 
mations : 

"On land owned and cultivated by ]\Ir. James Williams, 
of Santa Cruz, an onion grew to the enormous weight of 
21 pounds, and a. turnip was grown which equaled exactly 
in size the top of a flour barrel. On land owned and cul- 



10 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

tivated by Thomas Fallen, a cabbage grew which meas- 
ured, while growing, 13 feet and 6 inches around its body. 
The weight is not known. A beet grown by Mr. Isaac 
Brannan, at San Jose, weighed 63 pounds; carrots three 
feet in length, weighed 40 pounds. At Stockton, a turnip 
weighed 100 pounds, and at a dinner for 12 persons, of a 
single potato, larger than the size of an ordinary hat, all 
partook, leaving at least the half untouched." — Rep. of 
the Com. of Patents for 1851 : Part II, p. 4. 

These statements are vouched for by 12 persons whose 
names are given. To save the respect of their Eastern 
friends and at the same time to loyally make known the 
horticultural glory of the laud they had found, the early 
vegetable growers had recourse to public exhibitions. The 
first was held in the fall of 1851 in San Francisco. The ex- 
hibits did not quite equal the verdict of the horticultural 
jury cited above but they were notable, e. g. : a red beet 
from San Jose, 28 inches in circumference, weight 47 
pounds ; beets two months from seed in San Francisco, six 
and seven pounds ; cabbage from Mission San Jose seven 
feet in circumference, weight 56 pounds ; cucumbers 18 
inches in length ; onions five, six and seven inches in dia- 
meter from a product of nearly 70,000 pounds to the acre ; 
potatoes from Santa Cruz, 125 pounds from the five vines 
of a single hill and one potato from Santa Clara 13 inches 
in length, weighing 7i/4 pounds ; pumpkins and squashes 
from 100 to 140 pounds each. . 

The demonstrations furnished by such public exhibi- 
tions, of which there were several in the early years of 
San Francisco, were accepted at the East, and even such 
conservative experts as the late Dr. Warder, of Ohio, 
were led to exclaim, as early as 1852: "truly this is a 
wonderful country." To fully appreciate the significance 
of the facts it must be remembered that the varieties were 
those of nearly half a century ago and the culture was 
wholly lacking in the intensive arts which are common 
property of vegetable growers of the present day. The 



PIONEER VEGETABLES 11 

immensity of the specimens and of the crop, wonderful to 
the grower and incredible to the distant hearer, was 
simply the exponent of the capacity of a virgin soil, in 
which fertility had been accumulating for ages, and the 
forcing power of a climate wholly new to Americans. In 
later years California has surpassed even these early stan- 
dards through the employment of higher horticultural 
skill, as will be described presently, but it was upon the 
achievements of the vegetable growers at the very begin- 
ning of the American occupation that California's horti- 
cultural reputation was established. 

How the Pioneers Prospered by Vegetable Growing. — 
It would be easy to collect quite a volume of interesting 
instances of how success was attained in the early days, 
but a single experience must suffice. It illustrates both 
the resources of the pioneers and the country which they 
found. G. G. Briggs left New York State in April, 1849, 
and arrived in California in October of the same year, 
driving an ox team and walking most of the way. He 
says : 

"When I arrived in California I saw at once that there 
were other means of accumulating gold besides digging it 
from the mines; that miners and all classes would need 
turnips and cabbage and other products of the soil; that 
even then many were suffering with scurvy and other dis- 
eases for the want of fresh vegetable food. The large crops 
of native grapes on the banks of the Sacramento were 
proof of the productive capacity of the California soil and 
climate. Reaching Sacramento, our party of four had no 
money and no property but our wagon and three yoke of 
oxen. I could find no work whatever. I got trusted by a 
storekeeper for a sack of walnuts and sold them to passers 
by the teacupful and in five days cleared $50. We sold our 
oxen and with my part of the money I went to San Fran- 
cisco to buy garden seeds with which to start vegetable 
growing on a piece of land I had previously seen in the 
bottom of the Yuba river, near the present site of Marys- 



12 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ville. As it was too early in the season to plant, I bought 
a whale-boat and began freighting goods; and by spring 
I had accumulated about $3000. The last load freighted 
by me included a ton of potatoes, which cost me 40c. a 
pound. My seeds and potatoes were planted in IMarch, 
1851, and everything was doing well until cut to the 
ground by frost on April 19. My potatoes, however, came 
up again and made a fair crop. I was not to be cheated 
out of my vegetable crop, and started out again to buy 
seeds, but could find none, either in Sacramento or in San 
Francisco. Returning to Sacramento, I chanced upon 
some watermelon seeds on the boat, and bought the lot for 
$20. With these I planted five acres, and cleaned up 
about $5000 dollars for one summer's work. The next 
year I planted about 26 acres of watermelons, and in the 
fall I found I had $20,000 for my summer's work." 

With the money Mr. Briggs returned to New York for 
his family and brought also, on his return, some fruit trees, 
and laid the foundation of his subsequent brilliant rec- 
ord as a pioneer fruit grower. Others followed about the 
same course and thus vegetable growing became not only 
the basis of California's horticultural reputation but ac- 
tually furnished the capital for the ventures which dem- 
onstrated the possibility of our great fruit industries. 

Vegetables at the Missions and the Ranches. — The Am- 
erican pioneers found little at the establishments of the old 
regime that was instructive or even suggestive. In fact 
the Spanish conception of the agricultural capacity and 
adaptability of the country was not only inadequate ; it 
was erroneous as well. Though the missions had gardens 
they were almost destitute of gardening as we understand 
the term and whether the Spanish and IMexican settlers 
were deterred from vegetable growing by their distaste 
for any physical exertion, away from the saddle, or by 
their ignorance of the fitness of the country, is not a ques- 
tion of much importance in this connection. Hittell says: 
"Gardening was not attempted except on a very small 



VEGETABLES ON THE RANCHES 13 

scale and only for such vegetables as could be produced 
with very little labor. Potatoes and turnips were rare and 
of garden vegetables in general it may be said that until 
the advent of foreign settlers they were scarcely culti- 
vated." Bryant, who visited California in 1846 and ex- 
amined the Los Angeles gardens, saw only onions, pota- 
toes, red peppers and beans and added that he beli(!ved 
other vegetables would grow as well as they. 

Illustrating the inability of the rancheros to understand 
the wide applicability of the simple horticultural lessons 
given at the missions, it is related that at the time of the 
American settlement most of the Spanish families living 
in different parts of Alameda and Contra Costa had their 
garden patches near the Mission San Jose. They knew 
fruit and vegetables would grow there, because they had 
seen them in the mission gardens and they did not know 
they would grow elsewhere and had not taken the trouble 
to find out. Thus the Estudillos of San Leandro had their 
garden patch at the Mission San Jose and transported 
Iheir vegetables 15 or 20 miles while right outside the door 
of their house at San Leandro was the finest garden soil 
in the world, and they did not know it ! 

Neither the mission gardeners nor the rancheros had any 
idea of the capacity of the country for summer crops with- 
out irrigation and without any adequate conception of the 
offices of cultivation they could hardly have attained it. 
Hence, not having the irrigation facilities which were de- 
veloped at the missions, and not being inclined to any 
labor by which their own lands could be irrigated, they 
would naturally go to the water rather than attempt to 
bring the water to their land for anything more than stock 
and domestic uses. Almost at sight the American pioneer 
horticulturists discerned possibilities and adaptations in 
the soil and climate which their predecessors had not dis- 
covered during 75 years of occupation. The relations of 
race to horticultural progress are very interesting. 

Vicissitudes of Early Vegetable Growing. — Those who 



14 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

first discerned the fact that it was easier to get gold with 
the hoe than with the pick, realized market prices as sur- 
prisingly great as the vegetables they grew. John M. 
Horner, of Alameda county, is reported to have cleared 
about $150,000 from his large venture of SOO acres in vege- 
table growing in 1851, and others gained much more per 
acre than he, with smaller operations which did not re- 
quire so much high-priced labor. But the demonstration 
of their success proved its destruction. Plantations were 
made out of all proportion to requirements and disastrous 
overproduction speedily ensued. The second year after 
the exhibition in San Francisco, to which allusion has been 
made, there was a collapse. The following account of po- 
tato growing shows how sharp was the turn in affairs : 

In 1852 Beard & Horner's potato crop at Alvarado av- 
eraged 200 sacks (about 12 tons) to the acre, and sold for 
upwards of $100,000. The following year everybody cul- 
tivated them. In Pajaro valley 20,000 sacks were one day 
bet on a horse race. Beard & Horner contracted theirs in 
advance at 21/20- a pound to San Francisco merchants. 
Garrison took 1,000,000 pounds, which were never re- 
moved, but were allowed to rot on the ground. Saunders 
& Co. purchased a large quantity, which ttiey stowed aAvay 
in a hulk in the bay. As warm weather came on the pota- 
toes commenced growing and threatened to burst the ves- 
sel open. They commenced dumping the potatoes nito the 
bay, but the harbor master stopped it, and the owners had 
to pay for their removal to another locality. 

With the first disaster the charm and spirit of pioneer 
vegetable growing passed away. There was, of course, 
quick recovery in values and very profitable business dune, 
but it was not the same grand affair and it did not accord 
with the adventurous spirit of the day. Snu\ll growers 
near the cities and the mining camps did Avell, but there 
was not dash enough about market gardening for Ameri- 
cans and it was soon given over to immigrants from the 
south of Europe and China and has never been recovered. 



FOREIGN COMPETITION. 15 

Field growth of staple vegetables on a large scale has been 
continued by Americans, but even in this line he has often 
been obliged to withdraw from competition with Chinese, 
Portuguese and Italians with their cheaper labor supply 
and living expenses. Great enterprises in live stock, 
wheat, wool and fruit afforded opportunities more to the 
American taste than vegetable growing. The American 
settler had incomparably more energy and industrial am- 
bition than his predecessors, the Mexicans, but he shared 
with them a liking for doing his work in the saddle or on 
the seat of a riding plow, cultivator or harvester. Within 
a decade from the date of the American demonstration of 
the unique fitness of California for vegetable growing 
there arose occasion for frequent exhortations to Califor- 
nia farmers to restore the garden to its proper place in 
farm plan and policy, and yet California farmers neglected 
to supply their own tables and the proper adornment of 
their house yards until the ranch lioQie in this land of 
beauty and grand horticultural opportunities became a by- 
word for unthrift and desolation. Fortunately there has 
been such wonderful improvement during the last decade 
that these epithets no longer apply to California country 
homes. 

Competition with Foreigners.^ — One of the difficulties of 
the present situation is that while the American-born Cali- 
fornian has decried vegetable growing, the immigrants 
from southern Europe and eastern Asia have strongly 
entrenched themselves in it. Now the competition which 
the American grower has to encounter is depressing and 
discouraging. And yet the situation is not at all hope- 
less. The foreigners are not, as a rule, progressive. They 
are frugal and industrious to an extreme and they under- 
take a great deal to please their customers with variety 
as well as low prices. In some points the American com- 
petitor can learn from them to advantage. But it is quite 
easy to surpass them in quality by constant effort for im- 
proved varieties, which they are slow to introduce, and 
to cheapen production b,y the use of horse labor and im- 



16 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

proved tools, while they plod along with hand methods 
and appliances. If the California farmer should put forth 
the same effort to adapt conditions to ends and to keep 
himself at the very front in materials and arts of produc- 
tion in the growing and selling of vegetables that he has 
employed in the growing and selling of fruit, we should 
hear far less of the superiority of the foreigner in the vege- 
table garden. 

Recent Achievements in Vegetable Growing. — Although 
California horticulturists as a class are charged with ne- 
glect of vegetable growing, and though it must be admit- 
ted that the term horticulture and its derivatives are al- 
most wholly used in California to signify fruit growing, it 
is an important fact that we have vegetable growers who 
hold the country's record for volumes and uniqueness of 
special products. A new phase of the vegetable growing 
industry of the State arose with the openings of the over- 
land railways. The Eastern demand for some kind of 
vegetables has led to their production of several import- 
ant vegetable crops in very large volume and has thus 
given us specialty farming in vegetables somewhat com- 
parable with our great fruit specialties. Along this line 
vegetable growing has seemed worthy of American effort 
and our people have been proud to undertake production 
by the carload or trainload of the very crops which they 
would scorn to think of growing by the wagonload. The 
features of this line of production will appear in connec- 
tion with the discussion of the special kinds of vegetables 
which are involved in it. 

The statistics of vegetable shipment beyond State lines 
as given by an expert authority for the years specified is 
as follows : 

Shipment of Fresh Vegetables by Rail and Sea. — (Car- 
loads of 10 tons each): 1902, 6130; 1903, 7839; 1904, 
4429 ; 1905, 5961 ; 1906, 8982 ; 1907, 4808 ; 1908, 9350 ; 1909, 
8978. 

The grower for shipment is a specialist; he grows but 
few kinds, and often one kind only, and it becomes nee- 



THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCT. 17 

essary for him to study the particular kind he raises in all 
its forms, not only as to selection of variety, but to ob- 
tain the very best strain of that variety. He also has to 
study very closely the most economical methods of plant- 
ing, cultivation, harvesting, and marketing. Location in 
many instances determines what he shall raise. The chief 
point to consider is to raise that vegetable which succeeds 
best at the right time for shipment and to select land and 
location which favors that achievement. 

Canned Vegetables. — Another form in which our vege- 
tables are reaching distant markets in considerable quan- 
tities is the product of the canneries. The following is a 
statement of the total pack of vegetables in the years 
stated : 

California Product of Canned Vegetables. 

(cases of 24 cans). 

1907. 1908. 1909. 

Asparagus 174,435 238,420 410,965 

Beans 74,040 39,765 12,435 

Peas 51,565 88,510 104,010 

Tomatoes 1,539,310 1,106,875 672,260 

Other kinds 102,405 28,315 43,050 

Drying vegetables has been pursued in a small way for 
a number of years. The rapid extension of the mining in- 
terest in remote parts of the Pacific Coast created a quick 
demand for dried vegetables and it was thought that they 
would constitute an important item in distant shipments, 
but whenever transportation is established the superior 
succulence of fresh and canned vegetables discounts the 
dried product. 

The volume of California vegetable products includes, 
of course, dry beans, beet sugar, etc., which are mentioned 
in the chapters relating thereto. 

Diversity in Garden Practice in California. — It is hardly 
too much to say that our garden practice is an epitome of 
all ancient and modern cultural arts, for we have both 
survival of very old methods and subterfuges and wider 



18 CATJFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

deiiioiislrations of the truth of advjmecd ('oiic('i)tions of 
cultui-al efficacy than can probably be found in any other 
State. This is not due to any purpose or design on the 
part of our people. It is merely their notable resources of 
adaptalnlity and ingeiniity brought to bear upon the wide 
range of conditions involved in our combined winter and 
summer gardening which concentrates in a single common- 
wealth all the diversity one might encounter if he were 
a peripatetic gardener with an itinerary extending from 
Ireland to Algeria. Nor is this remark intended merely 
as a reference to the natural diversity of the different 
parts of the State, because success may require more or 
less distinct methods in summer and in winter in the same 
region. In short, the California gardener has to know arid- 
land practice and humid-land practice and call them both 
into requisition equally or incline toward one or the other 
as his conditions demand. 

It takes a man of some depth and breadth to do this, 
and this is the reason why land owners who have brought 
skilled horticultural practitioners from abroad to develop 
their properties have experienced so many disappoint- 
ments. It requires head as well as handicraft to master 
the situation, as subsequent chapters will suggest. 



CHAPTER II. 
FARMER'S GARDENS IN CALIFORNIA. 

It has already been admitted that there has been, ever 
since the development of large farming enterprises was 
seen to be possible in California, an indisposition on the 
part of our farmers to engage in vegetable growing. Sev- 
eral reasons are urged as explanatory of this very wide- 
spread sentiment and some of them may be cited : 

First : The proper conduct of a large specialty farm gives 
no time for gardening — not even for the direction of work 
upon it — and it is better to buy vegetables than incur the 
worry of a garden patch. 

Second: In small specialty farming on a limited acre- 
age of especially fitted and high priced land, it is not prof- 
itable to set apart land for vegetables when its yield in 
the special product may pay several times the cost of 
purchased vegetables. 

Third : Success with vegetables in California is very 
difficult to attain- — especially so in certain parts of the 
State — and a farmer is more apt to lose than to gain by 
any venture he may make in that line. 

Fourth : It is impossible to have a garden without irri- 
gation water, even on lands which with ordinary rainfall 
will yield cereals and carry productive deciduous fruit 
trees if they are given good summer cultivation. 

How Far Are the Objections Tenable? — It must be 
granted that there is some force in the demurrer which the 
California farmer often enters against his indictment for 
lack of thrift and neglect of opportunities in not under- 
taking to produce his home supply of fresh, crisp and 
wholesome vegetables instead of depending upon the stale 
and Avilted goods of the itinerant vendors. It is perfectly 



20 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

conceivable that, under certain conditions, the farmer had 
better buy food supplies rather than produce them, con- 
sequently the general denunciation of the unthrift of the 
California farmer, which is often indulged in by those who 
know little of the local situation and conditions, is really 
unwarranted. California conditions, both in nature and 
in farm policy, are so varied that criticisms and upbraid- 
ings are often misplaced. And yet it is perfectly true that 
vegetables "should be grown on farms in California much 
more generally and in far greater variety than they have 
been hitherto. It is not the intention of the writer to urge 
this improvement upon sentimental considerations nor to 
claim, as many seem inclined to do, that it is possible to 
compass it by the fiat method. Too many of our critics 
seem to hold that all the farmer has to do is to declare that 
there shall be a garden and one will spring up around his 
footsteps with ideal succulence, richness and deliciousness. 
It will be better to attempt to show that there is an oppor- 
tunity, providing its requirements be duly met, and that 
there are really fewer difficulties in the way and greater 
rewards for prompt and intelligent effort than many of 
our farmers imagine. And this can be shown without 
elaborate argument. A more striking demonstration will 
probably lie in showing to the many the success of the few, 
in order that they may draw therefrom lessons and ex- 
hortations for their own incitement and success. This ser- 
vice will be constantly held in view as this work proceeds. 

Essentials to Success in Gardening. — There are three re- 
quisites to success in gardening and they may be arranged 
in alliteration thus, Will, Water, Work. They also stand 
in the order of their relative importance in California. 
Without a strong impulse In the will it is vain to expect 
work and water to do their best. If the will is born of 
taste, liking, enthusiasm, the task will be delightful and 
the results grand in every way. Unless one has some joy 
in the rich, moist earth as it yields its fragrance to the 
touch of his tools; unless he can glory in the quick, re- 



ESSENTIALS TO SUCCESS. 21 

sponsive g'l'owth of the plant when his culture suits its 
nature, and unless he finds pride and satisfaction in the 
armful of delicious vegetables which he brings each day 
to his helpmeet, with the dewdrops of the early morning 
still sparkling upon their foliage, his gardening will never 
be an easy task though it may be conscientiously and suc- 
cessfully discharged. 

But although it is possible to make a good and profitable 
garden from a sense of duty and though work will reach 
its due reward even though one can never bring himself to 
see that the "primal curse" of the race is really its op- 
portunity, it is a fact that without work there can be no 
successful gardening in California. Perhaps work is the 
price of success everywhere ; perhaps the aggregate of 
muscular effort proportional to the result is less in Cali- 
fornia than elsewhere but let no one deceive himself that 
the California garden will make itself. The item of work 
may be reduced to a minimum by intelligent direction. In- 
sight and observation will teach just when each act should 
be performed to secure the richest co-operative response 
from nature's forces, and to miss this advantage will en- 
tail a vast amount of unnecessary effort, but the modicum 
of incisive action must be bestowed. It will appear later, 
in connection with the discussion of the planting season, 
that timely work is a prime factor — in fact the pivot upon 
which the effort may turn from delight to disappointment. 
California conditions, though exceedingly generous are 
equally exacting — probably more exacting than those of 
humid climates. It is clear then that not only is work an 
essential, but it must be work well directed and main- 
tained. The third essential is water. By due understand- 
ing and employment of the characters of the natural grow- 
ing season and of the soil in each locality, it is possible to 
produce a great wealth and variety of vegetables in most 
parts of the State without irrigation. In some parts suc- 
cession or rotation can be carried through the year by the 
most intelligent cultivation to prevent evaporation or by 



22 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the use of land naturally and continuously moistened by 
underflow. Still, the far greater area of the State Avill not 
give satisfactory vegetable supply without additions to 
rainfall and the irrigated garden should therefore be the 
end in view in most of our farm i)lanning. Fortunately 
this is not nearly so difficult to attain as is commonly 
thought, as Mnll be shown in a later chapter, and if the 
farm-architect have the will to work, he will not long lack 
the v/ater to insure the perfection of his desires in his 
home garden. 

Possible Exceptions. — These faint suggestions of the re- 
quirements of success in gardening, even on the narrow, 
farm plan, may intimate that broadside exhortations to 
vegetable growing are not wise and shed some light upon 
the reasonableness of those who claim that they can not 
profitably or successfully undertake it. Our great specialty 
farmers are apt to have their heads and hands too full to 
think of personally mastering gardening practice in a pe- 
culiar country. The attempts which have been made to 
transform the ordinary farm hand into a gardener have 
usually only yielded disappointment, and the professional 
gardeners who are really worthy of the name find it too 
easy to acquire enterprises of their own to warrant their 
wage-earning on the farm basis. It might as well be con- 
ceded at once that many large farmers will do better to 
purchase their supplies from some man who has the knowl- 
edge and the soil and water facilities for successful pro- 
duction. 

It is also true that in many cases the small scale specialty 
farmer, working a small tract of high-priced land for a 
high-value product, does well to plant his entire holding, 
except his house site, to this product. But it is also true 
that other men of this class will find the reservation of a 
garden area a most profitable proceeding. What each 
shall do depends upon his personal traits and tastes. 

But though these exceptions exist and should be consid- 
ered in any claims that are made in favor of a much wider 



FARM GARDENS. 23 

enlistment of California farmers in gardening for the pro- 
duction, at least, of home supplies, the fact remains that 
farm gardens should be multiplied and that, with proper 
spirit and effort and appreciation of their value, they can 
be more easily secured than the popular impression among 
California farmers would indicate. There is a wealth of 
experience to show that where good timely work is done, 
under conditions either naturally favorable or rendered 
favorable by moderate effort or investment, very gratify- 
ing results have been attained on farms in all parts of 
California. 

Benefits of Farm Gardens. — It is trite to build arguments 
on this theme, but the points can hardly be sharpened by 
comment. The dietetic benefit of vegetable food in variety 
has been demonstrated both by individual experience and 
by the food studies which are now being systematically 
pursued both in this country and Europe. Working force, 
thinking force, the quality of success in all lines of human 
effort, are all promoted by a generous, well-balanced food 
supply. 

The hygienic benefit of food, including due amount of 
the succulent, aromatic, tonic and assimilable characters 
which are inherent in fresh and well-grown vegetables, is 
universally recognized by authorities. The truth has par- 
ticular force in a region of high temperatures like Cali- 
lornia. The so-called cooling of the blood, the develop- 
ment of resistance to malaria, the free and healthful op- 
eration of the various functions of the body, are unques- 
uionably promoted by vegetable food. 

The economic benefit of home-grown esculents has been 
most clearly discerned during the last few years and the 
result is a gratifying increase of interest in farm garden- 
ing. More vegetables have been grown recently on Cali- 
fornia farms than ever before. The low market values of 
some of our most important special products have given 
an impetus to diversification of crops which a century of 
exhortation could not have compassed. California farmers 



24 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

have recognized as never before that sound farm policy 
generally requires the home production of most food sup- 
plies. Those who have endured with least hardship the 
financial stress of beginning a farm enterprise are those 
who have had least to buy and not those who had most to 
sell. Many a farm has been saved from the mortgage by 
the yield of subsidary products for home use and for ex- 
change for essential home supplies. In this most import- 
ant service the vegetable garden has done its full share 
and has thus commended itself to the attention of many 
who formerly looked upon the growth of ''garden sass" as 
a sort of ignoble pothering. The farm garden saves money 
and makes money if it is given adequate thought and gen- 
erous effort. 

This exhortation can be given forceful concreteness by 
the following actual instance which occurred in one of our 
warmer coast valleys : 

"My garden consists of one acre of good river bottom 
land, and as a matter of course is under good tilth. Be- 
sides what we used at home and gave away, we sold to our 
neighbors as follows : 

"Green onions, $16; cauliflower, $7; spinach, $4; early 
cabbage, $12 ; squashes, $8 ; green corn, $10.50 ; lettuce, 
$2.25 ; tomatoes, $18 ; beets, $3 ; turnips, $4. Total, $84.75. 

"What can be more profitable? Any farmer can do as 
well if he will only try. How did we do it? I will tell 
you. Early in November we planted top onions on one- 
half acre, and on the other half we planted spinach, beets, 
lettuce, turnips and carrots. Our seed beds were made in 
December, and as soon as the onions were ready to pull 
we replaced them with cabbages, pulling our onions with 
regard to such planting, also making room for a succes- 
sion of early peas and snap beans, and finally cucumbers. 
Of the last three articles we sold a good quantity, and the 
product will raise the total amount produced for the sea- 
son to over $100." 

This is not an isolated instance. Any one can do it who 



GARDEN IN MIXED FARMING. 25 

can command the "essentials to success" previously con- 
sidered, and almost any one can utterly fail of doing it 
without them. A hint is given of the succession of crops 
possible in the California garden. There will be much of 
that hereafter. 

The social benefit of the farm garden may enter the 
realm of sentiment but it is none the less true, potent and 
precious. The farm with a garden is an inexpressibly bet- 
ter home than without it. The garden wins interest; it 
dispenses content. It awakens home pride and strength- 
ens home love. It has actual educational value in that it 
directly imparts useful lessons in plant growth and re- 
quirements which are applicable to all other farm opera- 
tions. It has lessons also to quicken the love of the beau- 
tiful which, in turn, leads in all phases of home improve- 
ment and lifts the standard of rural manhood and woman- 
hood. 

Of Especial Application to California. — All these bene- 
fits of the installation of a garden area on the farm should 
be especially striven for in California because they can be 
realized here in exceptional measure. The well-planned 
California garden is evergreen. It admits of succession 
and rotation within the year, so that a 12 month is the pro- 
ducing equivalent of twice or thrice its duration in wintry 
climates. Here the garden does not insist upon intruding 
its claims just in the "rush of spring work" which is 
known in lands of more marked seasonal transitions. It 
is well content to be "ahead of the rush" the whole year 
round, but it must be admitted that it stubbornly rebels 
against being behind it. Not only is succession of tender 
growths made possible by the long frostless term but more 
than half of the common garden vegetables are so hardy 
that they maintain growth even through our short frosty 
season and, wath irrigation on lands which need it, thrive 
the whole year in the open air. Rich is the endowment 
which a semi-tropical climate bestows upon the gardener. 
He who does not avail himself of it for his own comfort 
and profit, buries his talent in the earth. 



26 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

The Garden in Mixed Farming. — During the last few 
years, aside from the greater interest in vegetable grow- 
ing on the part of the settlers, which has been noted, there 
has been a decided gain through the efforts of ncAver resi- 
dents to make their smaller holdings self-supplying and 
income-yielding, as well, by due attention to vegetable 
growing. All through the State the interest has quick- 
ened and the accomplishment has shown that the old idea 
that only special, narrow areas were suited to garden lo- 
cations, was a misconception. Instances are ample to show 
not only that proper practice brings ample success almost 
everywhere, but such practice, coupled with intelligent 
planning, yields such variety of delicious esculents as only 
a semi-tropical climate allows. This is one of the distinc- 
tive advantages of California and it favors the develop- 
ment of small farms of mixed husbandry as well as those 
devoted to specialties. Of course there are limitations 
and locations should be selected with discrimination for 
either mixed or special farming. The mixed farm in an 
ever growing climate makes requirements it is true but it 
also bestows compensations. As the forces ministering to 
growth are continuously active, the full use of them be- 
speaks corresponding activity on the part of man. There 
must be a determination to make almost every moment tell 
in some useful effort. There will be play for the sharpest 
ingenuity in devising means and methods for time-saving 
and ceaseless study to make the soil bear the burden of the 
table to the fullest degree. Small farming requires genius, 
devotion, and a spirit of content. Its work, when one ac- 
quires or is born with a liking for it, is full of cheer and 
enjoyment. Its varied nature is itself a charm. The trees, 
vines, plants, and domestic animals will rise almost to the 
plane of companionship. Man, wife and children will join 
in the spirit of the enterprise they are carrying on with 
united heart and hand, and loye for home will grow and 
blossom forth as it seldom does in mansions or on princely 
estates. Thus the modest calling has its compensations. 



THE HEN IN GARDENING 27 

The iufliience of such homes upon the State is most salu- 
tary. Sound ideas of economy become prevalent; honor 
and honesty are qualities which win popular approval. 
Thus, the State becomes really prosperous and sound at 
the core. The crowning need of California agriculture 
is to build up enterprises which will stand alone. We have 
been leaning too long on the shoulders of bankers and 
commission merchants and commanders of country stores. 
Without them it is true much that has been done could 
not have been accomplished, but it is also true that many 
losing effort which have been vainly put forth would never 
have been attempted, and those who have made these 
efforts would be the better for it. Who can tell how many 
would have attained moderate and comfortable successes 
if they had started without encumbrance on a modest 
plan instead of wasting time with big schemes whose 
whole returns have gone to feed hungry mortgages and 
interest accounts, until failure has swept from them the 
property which they proudly hoped to possess. 

■But why intrude this homily ? The garden is one of the 
elements of success in mixed farming. Around it other 
elements naturally gather. As gleaners and profitable 
transformers of garden wastes and surpluses into home 
supplies and garden restoratives, the cow, the pig, and the 
hen await outside the garden fence. Be sure to keep 
them there, and the garden will be a liberal contributor to 
their vigor and productiveness. 



CHAPTER III. 

CALIFORNIA CLIMATE AS RELATED TO VEGE- 
TABLE GROWING. 

It is not necessary to attempt an elaborate exposition of 
the characters of the California climate. Such characteri- 
zation has been made by different authorities from various 
points of view. It may be claimed in a general way that 
our climates are as kindly disposed toward vegetable 
growth as they are towards the development of fruits 
or the early maturity, thrift and comfort of animals. The 
ordinary exemption from ground-freezing at any time of 
the year ; the absence or very rare and localized occur- 
rence of soil-shifting winds or even of winds to prostrate 
tall growths ; freedom from wide extremes in temperature ; 
and only occasionally great changes in atmospheric hu- 
midity ; adequate heat for rapid growth with a dry, but 
seldom desiccating air, which prevents much of the fun- 
gous growth of hot, humid climates and consequently in- 
sures a grand and healthy leaf-action to the plant ; abun- 
dant sunshine, but seldom, and then only in few localities, 
rising to leaf burning; ample moisture either by rainfall 
or irrigation, or one supplementing the other^ — all these 
characters and others like them, constitute a climate of 
exceptional advantage to the vegetable grower. They 
reduce provisions for protection to a minimum ; a cloud of 
smoke or a lot of small fires for the frost ; a high fence or 
a line of trees for the wind, a lath or slight brush cover- 
ing or the neighborly shadow of a taller growth for the 
most tender foliage ; frequent cultivation to retain mois- 
ture in the soil after rain or irrigation, and the garden will 
go through the year- with ample protection at its weakest 



COAST VALLEYS. 29 

points. And all these are not needed in the same locality ; 
in fact some localities need none of them except the mois- 
ture retention which is universal. 

LOCAL VARIATIONS IN CLIMATE. 

Although it is possible to grow almost all vegetables 
everywhere in the State by intelligent selecting the proper 
time of the year for each, as shown in other chapters, and 
although few localities have climates so uniform and 
equable that by providing proper moisture conditions 
nearly all vegetables can be grown all the year, it is still 
possible to define regions with somewhat distinctive cli- 
matic characters bearing upon garden and field growth of 
edible plants. 

Coast Valleys — A considerable volume of vegetable 
products of California is grown in the coast valleys. This 
term includes both well-defined valleys of greater or less 
breadth, and stretches of rather flat or gently sloping 
land, open to ocean influences. It is a region extending 
the whole length of the State and lying between the high- 
est elevation of the Coast Range and the ocean. In the 
upper half of the State it is composed chiefly of well- 
defined valleys somewhat parallel to the coast, but pro- 
tected by low ranges which modify and mollify ocean in- 
fluences, insuring higher temperature and more gentle 
winds than are found directly on the coast. In the south- 
ern part of the State the region chiefly consists of broad 
areas quite open to the ocean but needing no barriers from 
it because, owing to the trend of the coast, the lower lati- 
tude and the greater distance south from the source of 
the prevailing air currents, the ocean influences are them- 
selves modified before they reach the lands. In all this 
vast region, then, similar conditions prevail, locally modi- 
fied, however, enough to create some marked differences 
in degree, which have been well utilized as the basis of 
special production. The difference in degree may be speci- 
fied in this way : Temperature rises and rainfall decreases 



30 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

as you proceed southward. Take an instance of specializ- 
ing production : Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma coun- 
ties, coast side, low temperature and large rainfall, known 
from the earliest times as a great potato country ; San 
Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, coast 
side, higher temperatures and light rainfall, producing 
a considerable part of all the beans grown in the State. 
And yet though these differences thus notably localize 
production, the whole coast region north and south has 
this in common ; it has a more equable and lower tempera- 
ture and a more generous rainfall than the interior valley 
at its own latitude ; it also has lighter frosts, growing 
lighter still toward the south until it incloses regions here 
and there which favoring topography makes practically 
frostless. Such situations favor all-the-year growth of the 
tenderest vegetables, and perennial beans and tomato 
trees are possible. 

Interior Lowlands. — A region which has recently greatly 
advanced in importance in vegetable production comprises 
the lower lands of the interior valleys. They lie along 
the two great rivers of the northern and central parts of 
California — the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and their 
tributaries. These rivers flow from nearly two hundred 
miles, north and south of their confluence, where they 
mingle their waters through numerous sloughs until the 
joint streams pour through a gap in the coast range into 
San Francisco bay. The same gap which lets out the 
waters lets in the ocean current of moisture-laden wind 
and moderates the heat of the entire interior valley, but 
naturally dispenses most moisture and coolness over the 
lowlands which lie just in its course as it rushes north- 
ward and southward to displace the air which is rarified 
by the sun heat on the interior plains of the great valley. 
These interior lowlands along the lower stretches of the 
rivers have then an interior climate modified by the in- 
trusion from the coast, but this onlj^ acts in full measure 
during June, July and August. It serves, therefore, as a 



RIVER LAND VEGETABLES. 31 

moderator of heat and drought during that period and 
supplements the supply of aqueous vapor which rises by 
evaporation from the immense acreage of tule swamps 
and shallow lakes which surround the tillable lands of 
the region. Climatic conditions in this large interior area 
favor the growth of vegetables and its producing capa- 
city is beyond any present commercial use which can be 
made of it. But though it has a temporary coast modi- 
fication, as has been stated it falls back into interior habits 
when restraint is removed. It has intervals of hot, dry 
winds which exclude the coast winds from access to the 
valley and then intense dry heat calls for ample water 
supply, which, fortunately, however, is easily applied, 
because at such season the rivers and sloughs are running 
full and if seepage is not enough, siphons or flood-gates 
admit water from the high-running rivers or pumps yield 
great volumes at little cost. But the interior lowlands 
have another more grievous trait. As the.y lie low they 
are the scenes of the latest spring and earliest autumn 
frosts and their season for tender vegetables is shorter 
than that of the coast, though with their higher heat and 
copious moisture their mid-season product of these ten- 
der crops may out-volume a slower, longer season on the 
coast. But the earliest and the latest tender vegetables 
do not come from the interior lowlands. 

There are interior lowlands of wonderful producing 
capacity at considerable distances from the confluence of 
the two rivers just mentioned. For about three hundred 
miles the river lands extend both northward and south- 
ward, offering an area of moist or easily-irrigated land of 
such fertility and extent that it suggests its own ability 
to produce vegetables for the whole country. At present 
hardly an appreciable fraction of one per cent of it is 
employed in production for which it is best fitted. In the 
future its lower levels will be the Holland and its upper 
extensions the Nile valley of California. The farther these 
lowlands lie from the mouths of the rivers the less they re- 



32 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ceive of coast influences. This gives the distant lowlands 
a higher temperature and greater forcing power upon 
vegetation. The nights are warm as well as the days. 
Vegetables of prodigious size and acre-crops which tax 
credulity, are the result of the favoring conditions. But 
these lands are low and danger of frost makes it necessary 
to select crops for hardiness during a part of the year. 

Interior Plains and Foothills. — Above and away from the 
lowlands of the rivers and their deltas the interior plains 
stretch far as the eye can reach, and rise, both on the east 
and west, into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the 
coast ranges. In southern California somewhat similar 
regions occur as the lands rise from the coast flats to the 
mesas and foothills of the high, incurved mountain range 
which encloses the splendid coast region of southern Cali- 
fornia. The great interior plains of southern California 
irrigated from the Colorado river and adjacent valleys 
irrigated from wells constitute a vast vegetable growing 
district which has recently attained notable development. 
There are similar climatic conditions prevailing through 
these vast interior regions both north and south — except 
that the extreme south has by its latitude and its escape 
from ocean influence, a frost freedom and spring time 
heat which enable it to produce the earliest vegetables in 
the State. In the interior regions the rainfall is light as 
compared with the coast until the mountain climate is 
encountered at varying elevations, when it becomes even 
greater than on the coast. The mean temperature is 
higher and, except in certain localities, the frosts cover 
a shorter period and are less severe. Winter growth of 
vegetables is widely feasible and plants of less hardi- 
hood than those of the lowlands are usually safe. But 
the rains cease earlier in the spring and heat and drought 
make irrigation essential long before it is required nearer 
the coast. For summer growth of vegetables, except on 
small areas moistened by underflow from mountain springs 
or valley cienegas, irrigation must be provided. These 



FOOTHILLS AND MOUNTAINS. 33 

are the regions which were formerly most apt to be con- 
demned as unfit for vegetable growing, and it is upon such 
lands that most failures and disappointments occur. It is 
true that local climatic conditions here need most radical 
modification by art of man, but it is here also that prompt 
and timely work and adequate irrigation, wind protection 
and partial shade win their greatest victories. There is 
really no reason why the energetic, enterprising man 
should hesitate for a moment about undertaking prepara- 
tion for his home supply of vegetables. Commercial un- 
dertakings in vegetable growing may have to be confined 
to fewer plants grown just at the right season and with 
special methods, but even a small water supply with ample 
will and work will give a full variety for the family table. 

At certain elevations on the mesas and foothills of the 
Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges, sheltered by local topog- 
rophy, there are practically frostless regions with ample 
winter rains where winter growth is so fostered that the 
earliest vegetables as well as the earliest fruits are pro- 
duced. Some tender vegetables may be ready for the 
table on the higher location before it is safe to plant the 
seed on the lower level. And the two situations may be 
in full sight of each other. It is a fact that in small val- 
leys of the foothills late and early frosts, sharp and de- 
structive, may be more prevalent than on the lowlands 
of the broad valley below, while on the slopes above 
them tender plants may be safe. 

Mountain Valleys. — Among the mountain peaks and 
ridges from three thousand feet upward are slopes and 
valleys which are very productive of vegetables. As ele- 
vation decreases, wintry features become intensified and 
range of winter growth less and less until in the true 
"mountain valleys," which lie among the summits of the 
Sierra Nevada, the winter is a closed season of snow and 
ice and the garden becomes a summer affair as in the 
Eastern States. Growth, however, during the open sea 
son is very rapid and satisfactory, moisture is abundant 



34 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

and irrigation facilities ample in the abundant supplies 
of snow waters from above, which need however to be 
moderated in temperature before distribution. In this 
region gardening seasons and practices are more compar- 
able with eastern policies and methods and are not charac- 
teristically Californian as the term is usually understood. 

GENERAL CHARACTERS OP CALIFORNIA CLIMATE. 

The proper conclusion from the foregoing discussion 
is that each California locality must be separately studied 
to determine its climatic adaptations for vegetable grow- 
ing and its season for the best discharge of the various 
gardening duties. There are, however, some generaliza- 
tions concerning leading climatic features as related to 
vegetable growing which may be of assistance to distant 
readers. 

Relative Occurrences of Cloudiness and Sunshine in Cal- 
ifornia Regions. — Due proportion of sunlight, warmth and 
moisture is necessary to produce quick and healthy vege- 
tation. Cloudiness is also an important element, since the 
presence of clouds screens the earth and diminishes the 
heat received by vegetation from the direct rays of the 
sun. So also, acting as a screen, it prevents in a measure 
the radiation of heat from the earth into space, and this 
materially tends to modify and reduce the daily range 
of temperature, so that growing vegetation is not subject 
to as great cold as would otherwise obtain during the 
night, nor on the other hand, does it receive the full 
amount of solar heat by day. 

It should be borne in mind that the weather condi- 
tions most favorable for vegetable growing are in some 
respects different from those which minister to the per- 
gection of fruits. The fruit tree, with its roots deep 
in a moist -soil, welcomes high heat to mature its fruit. 
The perfection of the esculent falls far short of the ma- 
turity of the plant and lies mainly in the measure and 
tenderness of foliage, stem, immature fruit or fleshy root. 



RAINFALL AND FROST. 35 

These are usually best attained at a degree of heat less 
than required for fruit ripening. Again edible plants as 
compared with trees are shallow-rooting and suffer in a 
very hot surface soil which a tree escapes by penetration 
of the subsoil. The growth of winter vegetables is ad- 
vanced by abundant sunshine during the rainy season ; 
the growth of summer vegetables is promoted by cloud- 
screen from excessive sun heat, and it is clearly refreshed 
by summer fog. Herein, in part at least, lies the explana- 
tion why the earliest vegetables come from interior re- 
gions and the main crop of midseason and late vegetables 
is to be sought in regions whose climate is modified by 
cool coast winds, which sometimes carry fogs and always 
temper sun action by their content of insensible aqueous 
vapor. Some plants are especially responsive to this ac- 
tion of coast breezes. Lima beans on the Ventura coast 
are sometimes rescued from failure through deficient rain- 
fall, by days of cool, misty breezes from the adjacent 
ocean. The same is true in varying degrees of all vege- 
tation and the fact is often of very great economic im- 
portance to California. 

Distribution of Rainfall. — The local ramfall throughout 
the State has of course about the same relation to local 
gardening as it has to other farm work, but it seems 
hardly necessary to discuss it in this place, because it is 
possible now to secure the data from different sources. 
Local observers almost everywhere can furnish the facts. 
It is, however, pertinent to present a general compilation 
which fixes approximately the date at which effective 
rains may be expected in each main division of the State 
and thus impart a somewhat definite notion of when the 
natural season of growth will begin. All should be in 
readiness beforehand to seize upon this opportunity for 
soil working, if one is to proceed without irrigation, and 
for the planting of seeds of hardy vegetables which will 
withstand the local winter temperature and give the 
earliest readiness for use under the circumstances. 



36 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

The Occurrence of Frosts in California. — The occurrence 
of frost in California is, from one point of view, a purely 
local question. As has already been stated, the frosty and 
the frostless places are often in sight of each other on 
the same landscape from the same point of view. It can 
be even more closely drawn than that. It is sometimes 
quite as plainly to be seen as the high-water line of a 
river flood on a sloping meadow. This occurs of course in 
what are termed the thermal belts and is determined by 
elevation, air currents, outflow levels and several other 
incidents of local topography. There are often wide va- 
riations in these lines from year to year and yet there is 
steadfastness enough about the phenomena to enable resi- 
dents to agree among themselves as to what localities are 
"in the frost" and what are out of it. Upon this decision 
depends the business risk in planting ont beans, peppers, 
tomatoes, etc., for winter growth, and it is upon such fields 
that the frost, not always content with the local definition 
of its limits, draws the dead line which the morning sun 
brings into such fateful prominence. Of course the grower 
is not necessarily content to accept such natural bounda- 
ries of the thermal belt. He can materially change it all 
by frost-fighting, but the discussion of that matter be- 
longs to another chapter. 

It is important to know as nearly as possible the be- 
ginning and end of the frost free period in each locality, 
and data to assist in determining this fact are given in 
the chapter on The Planting Season. 



CHAPTER IV. 

VEGETABLE SOILS OF CALIFORNIA. 

Soils which favor the most satisfactory growth of vege- 
tables are those which are most easily maintained in a con- 
dition of tilth to promote seed germination and rapid es- 
tablishment of the seedling in sure-growing contact with 
the soil-substance ; soils which facilitate deep-root pene- 
tration by the advancing plant so that moisture and plant 
food shall be rapidly reached, and which have sufficient 
retentive power and capillarity to maintain adequate mois- 
ture within reach of the roots and such amount of plant 
food that the plant may attain the greatest growth in the 
least time. Soils with these characters have also the 
most valuable incidental qualities of warmth, to foster 
vegetative processes ; porosity to facilitate the escape of 
surplus water and the entrance of the air with its con- 
stituents which promote root action and modification of 
the soil substance and absorptive power to readily receive 
and deeply distribute rainfall or irrigation. These are 
high requirements, for it is an ideal soil which possesses 
them all. 

Ideal Soils Not Essential. — Fortunately gardening art is 
amply able to supply- natural deficiencies in nearly all 
respects and, if he is working for high-priced products on 
a comparatively small area, the vegetable grower can of- 
ten profitably make considerable expenditure for soil im- 
provement. Market gardeners need no exhortation in this 
line, but the home gardener should be urged not to de- 
spair because of any refractory character in the soil he 
is obliged to utilize. If he study the subject by the aid 
of most excellent treatises recently written on the soil and 



38 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

its amelioration he can proceed rationally and accom- 
plish marvels with Will, Work and Water upon almost 
any soil, from a brick yard to a desert. City people have 
grown their table supplies on housetops ; no ruralist can 
find a less productive subsoil. 

Light Rather Than Heavy Soils. — The characters already 
cited point clearly to what is commonly designated as a 
^ather light soil as best for vegetable growing. The ex- 
creme variations in soils are popularly known as heavy 
adobe and light sandy soils. Neither are usually counted 
suitable for garden purposes without treatment to over- 
come their defects and yet as the terms are used in some 
California regions, there are very good gardens on both 
of them. The explanation is that in such localities one has 
less sand and one less clay than the other. Both are 
really loams or mixtures of sand and clay : one a clayey 
loam, the other a loamy sand. Aside from this misappre- 
hension of terms we have of course clays (locally called 
"adobe") which are true enough to the type to bring 
despair to the most patient gardener and we have washes 
of pure sand on which a shallow-rooting plant could hardly 
live with a stream of water running beside it. But our 
shifting sands of the interior plains and our so-called 
deserts are sandy loams which yield profusely when prop- 
erly irrigated. For the improvement of defective soils for 
the farm-garden, suggestions will be given later. 

Soils Naturally Excellent. — For field growth of vegeta- 
bles in California the grower is usually content to proceed 
upon the natural texture and fertility of his soil. The 
crop is chosen to suit the local soil and climate, conse- 
quently we have districts becoming famous for special 
vegetable products as demand for them in considerable 
quantities is demonstrated. In such districts the soils 
are rather light and yet ample in richness to endure for 
some time the drain of continuous cropping in the same 
line. We have areas of such soils considerably in excess 
of their present profitable use. They constitute one of our 



40 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

undeveloped resources and are a surety of future advance- 
ment. 

For the very gratifying amount of accurate knowledge of 
California soils which is now available a debt of honor 
is due to Dr. E. W. Hilgard, formerly Professor of Agri- 
culture and Director of the Experiment Stations of the 
University of California, who has given a lifetime to ad- 
vanced investigations in soil physics and chemistry. It 
is from his publications^ that we shall condense some ac- 
count of the specific character of those soils which are 
most nearly related to local production of vegetables, leav- 
ing out of account the heavy adobe, which is little used 
for these crops except by gardeners who radically change 
its physical character. 

Prevailing- Character of California Soils. — In his inter- 
esting contrast of the soils of arid and humid regions, Dr. 
Hilgard makes some generalizations, which we collate to 
serve our present purpose. 

The character of the soils of the arid regions is predomi- 
nantly sandy or silty, with but a small portion of clay un- 
less derived directly or indirectly from pre-existing for- 
mations of clay or clay shales. 

The idea of inherent fertility has been associated so 
generally with soils of a more or less clayey character, 
that the newcomer will frequently be suspicious of the 
productiveness and desirability of the sandy or silty soils 
of the arid region that experience has shown to be of the 
highest type in both respects. 

Another point of great importance is that the differ- 
ence between soil and subsoil, which is so striking and 
important in regions of abundant rainfall, is largely ob- 
literated in arid climates. Very commonly hardly a per- 
ceptible change of tint or texture is found for depths of 



'"Soils: Their Formation, Properties, Composition and Relations 
to Climate and Plant Growth"; also "Agriculture for Schools of 
the Pacific Slope," by Hilgard and Osterhout. These works can 
be furnished by the Pacific Rural Press of San Francisco. 



CALIFORNIA SOILS RICH. 41 

several feet and material from such depths, when thrown 
on the surface, is nearly or quite as fertile as the original 
surface soil. In the case of a cellar dug near Nevada 
City, the red soil mass excavated from a depth of seven 
to ten feet was spread over part of a vegetable garden near 
by and tomatoes, beans and watermelons were planted on 
it. The growth was even better than on the parts of the 
old surface not covered, which had apparently become 
somewhat exhausted by years of use. 

Examination has shown that the percentage of humus 
or vegetable mold is less in the soils of the arid region, 
but their humus contains more nitrogen. Thus, prob- 
ably, on the average not only is the aggregate supply 
of nitrogen in the soils of the arid region approximately 
equal to that of humid soils, but its absorption by plants 
is exceptionally favored bj^ climatic conditions. 

As to the minerals which constitute fertility, the soils 
of the arid region contain nearly fifteen times as much 
lime, five times as much magnesia, three times as much 
potash and about the same amount of phosphoric acid as 
the soils of the humid regions. 

Significance of These facts. — These leading characteris- 
tics of California's horticultural soils are of the highest 
significance to the vegetable grower because they show 
that California is rich in soils of ideal excellence for his 
purposes. They are light soils and therefore easy of cul- 
tivation and not disposed to bake on drying; they are 
deep, consequently well drained and yet absorptive and 
retentive enough : they are exceptionally rich, consequently 
extremely productive and durable and they can often be 
given a new fertile surface by deep turning from the fer- 
tility of the greater depths. This was the natural en- 
dowment which enabled the pioneer vegetable growers to 
disturb the hortieulaural peace of the world in 1849-50. 
It remains to foster the achievements of later yeai-s aiul it 
will endure definitely into the future. 

The distribution of these desirable soils gives all re- 



42 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

gions a share in them. Either as residual loams resulting 
from the decomposition of adjacent rocks, or as transported 
loams which have been carried greater or less distances 
by wind, glacial action or other moving^ force, or as allu- 
vial or sediment soils, deposited by action of flowing 
streams, every California county has its vegetable soils in 
ample measure. Such is the diversity of soils within 
narrow areas in California that it may not take a very 
large farm to inclose several diverse types, and it is the 
first duty of the settler to learn their special characters 
and adaptations and plan his production accordingly. 

Alluvial or Sediment Soils. — Though there is marked 
diiference in the origin of our soils which are suitable for 
v^egetable growing, when proper moisture conditions are 
arranged, it is naturally the alluvial or sediment soils 
which have hitherto been chiefly used. They have been 
deposited by recent or ancient water courses and have 
formelrly served as river banks or river and lake bottoms. 
They have beneath them, generally quite far below, the 
prevailing soil of the adjacent country. They consist of 
fine alluvium with seldom any admixture of coarse mate- 
rials. They are usually very deep and well drained. They 
occur sometimes at a considerably higher level than ex- 
isting streams and are sometimes designated as "next to 
river bottom," while the lower levels constitute the "river 
bottom." In some small valleys they have spread deeply 
all over the original soil, having been washed in such quan- 
tities from adjacent hills, and in larger valleys have 
spread for considerable distances out upon the plain. 
These are primarily the fruit lands, but they are also 
largely used for such vegetables as thrive upon lighter and 
drier soils. Below are the present river bottoms, usually 
dark, rich and moist and not subject to baking or crack- 
ing, which are, par excellence, vegetable lands. 

Peat Lands. — Another class of alluvial soils is known as 
peat soils, which consist of mixtures in various propor- 
tions of silt and sediment with the debris of centuries' 



IMPROVING HEAVY SOILS. 43 

growth of swamp plants which the streams have currently 
overflowed in flood times or over which they have risen 
daily as the tide wall has held back their waters. This 
organic matter from the aquatic plants is in various 
stages of decomposition, but in the best of the lands has 
been reduced to fineness by cultivation after the floods 
and tides have been excluded by levees, or by natural 
barriers interposed by stream or wave action, or by re- 
cession of lake waters according as the situation is on the 
coast or distant interior. This light but very deep and 
rich soil especially suits some plants and is the basis 
of some of our export vegetable business, as for instance, 
celery growing. Such soils are of course used locally for 
all esculent plants which thrive upon them and which 
the market favors. Such lands are in vast area in many 
parts of the State, from near the ocean to the margins 
of interior rivers and lakes and waters of interior plateaux 
as well. In the heat of the interior valley they dry 
out very rapidly when seepage or overflow from streams 
and sloughs is cut off by levees. They are non-retentive, 
owing to the coarseness of their structure, but irrigation is 
easily accomplished, as will be noted in the proper con- 
nection. 

IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL TEXTURE FOR 
GARDENING. 

Aside from such treatment of the soil as is designed to 
increase its fertility, which will be considered in the 
chapter on fertilizing, it seems fitting in this connection 
to suggest measures by which the texture of the soil may 
be improved when necessary. This is important in the 
farm garden because there may not be anything approach- 
•ng an ideal garden soil inside the line fences. But this 
fact should not discourage the home gardener, as has 
already been intimated. 

If one observes the operations of market gardeners or 
reads any treatise on gardening written for the older 



44 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

countries, he is apt to conclude that the Creator has done 
little for the modern garden except to furnish a place 
to put it, because the chief art of gardening seems to con- 
sist in using as little of the natural soil as possible. This 
state of affairs has not arisen in California yet, for the 
reasons shown in the descriptions of our garden soils, and 
,yet we do not mean to suggest that the farm gardener 
should in all cases expect to reach satisfactory results 
without due effort for soil improvement on the small area 
which he expects to yield so much. 

Improvement of Adobe Soils. — Our adobes, especially 
those of the darker hues, are rich and durable. In com- 
mon with heavy clay soils everywhere, they are retentive 
of moisture. In our arid summers, however, they lose 
their moisture speedily by evaporation, if untilled, and 
dry out to a greater depth than lighter soils. They are 
refractory under tillage and unless caught at just the 
right moment they are either wax or rock under the plow, 
and the cultivator will either stick fast or ride over the 
surface. And yet if one has nothing but adobe he is not 
as badly off as he might be, because adobe is easily suscep- 
tible of improvement. The points to attain are several, 
but they are inter-related and effort for one measurably 
helps toward all. 

The free use of air-slaked lime applied about the time 
of the first rains is the first and simplest effort toward 
breaking up the tenacity of the soil. This should be done 
no matter what greater efforts are to be undertaken later. 

Deep and thorough tillage, taking the soil at just that 
condition of moisture when it works well with plow and 
harrow, will be found to progressively improve its tilla- 
bility by mere action of air and implements. If this is 
all that can be undertaken at first, do this thoroughly and 
put in the cultivator after each heavy rain as soon as the 
proper condition of soil arrives, so as to prevent baking 
of the surface. For winter growth of vegetables in re- 



IMPROVING HEAVY SOILS. 45 

gions of ample rainfall, use the ridge system, which will be 
described in a subsequent chapter. 

But liming and persistent tillage are only temporizing 
with adobe and do not accomplish permanent reform. 
The first rational step is to resort to adequate drainage. 
Tile drains two and a half or three feet deep and twenty 
feet apart will do for garden plants. This leaves a clear 
surface for working over, but, if the expense of tiling is 
not desired, open ditches will answer, but they restrict 
cultivation to one direction, waste land, and are expen- 
sive in hand work in killing weeds in the ditches. Open 
ditches are, however, better than no ditches at all. The 
effect of drainage is to promote friability, to render the 
soil tillable earlier and oftener, by the quick removal of 
surplus water, and to promote seed germination and plant 
growth. 

The aeration of adobe by drainage and tillage accom- 
plishes a considerable improvement but still more radi- 
cal reform measures are desirable. The soil particles are 
naturally too small. They must be separated by interposi- 
tion of coarser grains. Plow into the soil as much coarse 
material as possible. 

Farm-yard manure, straw, sand, old plaster, coal 
ashes, sawdust, almost anything coarse or gritty which 
will break up the close adherence of the fine clay par- 
ticles, release the surplus water and let iu the air, will 
l)roduce a marked effect in reducing the hateful 
baking and cracking, root-tearing and moisture-losing be- 
havior of the adobe. Scrape the corrals, rake up the leaves 
and fine litter of all kinds, make the adobe garden patch 
the graveyard for all the rubbish which is susceptible of 
decay. The farm will be neater and the garden will pay 
the expense in its easier working and better growth. Do 
this every year before the rains come, and you will rejoice 
that you had an adobe foundation for the farm garden. 

The Improvement of Light, S::ndy Soils. — This effort is 
in some cases more difficult than conquering adobe. It all 



46 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

depends upon the coarseness of the sand and the subsoil 
upon which it rests. If soil and su))soil are coarse sand 
or gravel to a considerable depth, shallow rooting plants 
will fail unless they can finish their growth during the 
rainy season. Summer growth is impossible because water 
will flow through their sieve-like structure and carry 
away plant food with it. With moisture leaching away 
below and flying away above, and with intense sun heat 
burning the foliage by direct contact and reflection, such 
wash soils are indescribably worse than adobe. 

But sandy soils which are imposed upon clay or hard- 
pan, providing the underlying stratum is not alkaline, 
furnish very promising garden materials, even though 
the layer be too shallow for the growth of trees. Many 
fruit growers are struggling to maintain trees on such 
spots in their orchards when they should forsake the ef- 
wort and by adequate use of water and manure turn such 
spots into family gardens. The holding of water near 
the surface, which is fatal to tree roots, is the opportunity 
for the growth of most vegetables. Depth of soil which 
is so strongly insisted upon in treatises on gardening, con- 
stitutes a storehouse of moisture and plant food, but it 
has been abundantly demonstrated the world over that 
depth is not essential provided the plant is otherwise fed 
and watered. California gardens proceeding upon rain- 
fall alone, need a deep, retentive soil; the irrigated gar- 
den may thrive upon a soil too coarse to be retentive pro- 
viding it has a tight bottom to hold moisture within reach 
of shallow rooting plants. Therefore reclaim such sand 
by providing a home water supply, if not in an irrigated 
region, and use plenty of well-composted and decayed ma- 
nure, which will not only feed the plants but will also 
reform its texture and transform the coarse sand into 
a rich garden soil, kind in cultivation and prodigious in its 
yield of succulent vegetables, for sand is best of all ma- 
terial for free and rapid root development. 



CHAPTER V. 
GARDEN IRRIGATION. 

It has already been intimated that the irrigated garden 
should be the aim of all who desire to attain the fullest 
satisfaction in vegetable growing. But while it is true 
that the California gardener must have irrigation to do 
his best and to give him a solid year of rotations and 
successions in his garden, due emphasis must be laid upon 
the fact that in suitable locations the unirrigated garden 
in California is a greater treasure than at the east. This 
fact is due to the character of our winter climate, which, 
as has been shown in a previous chapter, is actually a 
growing season for all but the vegetables which will 
endure no frost. By using to their fullest capacity our 
six rainy months, by early cultivation and planting, which 
will be fully explained later, midwinter and spring vege- 
tables can be produced in great variety ; and by proper 
cultivation for the retention of moisture, tender vegeta- 
bles, planted toward the end of the rainy season, will 
find moisture enough stored in the soil to carry them to 
perfection in midsummer and autumn, although not a 
drop of rain may fall from the sowing of the seed to 
the gathering of the crop. For this reason owners of 
fairly deep and retentive soil in regions of ample rainfall 
can attain splendid results without irrigation, if they will 
only be alert for prompt work and persistent in summer 
cultivation. 

What can be done in California with the unirrigated 
garden depends upon conditions existing in each locality. 
Character and depth of soil, amount of rainfall, degree 
of heat, and percentage of relative humidity in the air, 



48 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the lay of the land — all these are determining factors, 
in addition to the dates of frost occurrence which fix the 
opening and closing of the season for tender plants in 
the open ground. Therefore let no man conclude that 
he cannot grow vegetables until he completes his arrange- 
ment for irrigation unless he is sure that his winter rain- 
fall is too uncertain to grow even a crop of wheat, for 
a rainfall that will carry the wheat plant to maturity 
will also produce quite a variety of garden vegetables 
with proper practice in early sowing and frequent cul- 
tivation. 

And from this low-water mark the unirrigated garden 
proceeds upward with richer endowment of favoring local 
conditions, insuring length of growing season and variety 
of vegetables until it really becomes a question whether 
irrigation is needed at all. It certainly is not for ample 
yield of many, possibly all, of the staples of the garden, 
but to insure a succession of salads and relishes, pot- 
herbs and legumes — in short, to enjoy the fulness of the 
California season, the irrigated garden is the thing to 
be diligently striven for. 

SOURCES OF IRRIGATION WATER. 

Whence the garden shall receive its water supply is a 
question for each to determine according to his environ- 
ment. Water is now flowing over California gardens 
from various sources as the result of all sorts of indi- 
vidual, co-operative, and corporate efforts and invest- 
ments. It would require volumes to clescribe them. Large 
irrigation enterprises are the joint work of engineers and 
capitalists. That gardener is fortunate who has only to 
buy his water from a fair-dealing ditch company or draw 
his share from a co-operative water company in which 
he has an interest. Such a source is best of all because 
causing least labor and expense in average cases. But 
there will always remain opportunities, probably, where 
farm gardens can command their own irrigation supplies 



SOURCES OP WATER. 



49 



at a cost which will warrant the effort. It is in this line 
that a few suggestions will be offered. 

Surface Sources. — In the unirrigated regions of the 
State there are countless opportunities for home supplies 




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■ tkM< 



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W:-V 



BOGGY LAND PRODUCED BY SEEPAGE. 











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RECLAIMED BY RESERVOIR BUILDING. 



of irrigation water by the simple process of allowing it 
to run down hill your way instead of that way which is 
natural to it. Water which would be of great value in 
the house and barn and farm garden is allowed to flow 
by in its own deep channel when a very little use of the 



50 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

level would show that a part of it could be taken out 
into a ditch or pipe, higher up its course through the 
farm, and brought along with less fall than it naturally 
takes, until it reaches the buildings high up the slope 
above the bank instead of in the deep bed it has cut in 
the soil below. This is very simple and inexpensive, and 
yet we have many hillside places in the central and north- 
ern parts of the State where the water is carried up by 
hand to the house, and the animals are driven down to 
the water, and the garden is neglected because it is too 
hard work to haul water up to it. Of course, there are 
many eases where such an obvious resource of the farm 
has been utilized, but there are many where it is neglected. 

Many springs on the hillsides are allowed to be 
trampled into mudholes by the stock, which need but 
cleaning out and opening up to yield a water-flow beyond 
any amount which the old outcropping would indicate. 
A short pipe line would deliver water in the tops of the 
buildings if desired and would generously irrigate all the 
land needed for the family garden. And yet the hillsides 
are full of unused springs. 

Between the hills above the building sites there are 
many intervales which are impassable in the rainy season 
and covered with a growth of sedges and swamp grass 
all summer. They are natural reservoirs of greater or 
less capacity, holding the surface water and underflow 
from the hillsides. In the dry season plowing and scrap- 
ing will easily fashion a small reservoir at the lowest 
point of the intervale and a pipe line will bring down 
water at least for irrigation, if it is not suited for other 
uses. Or if there be below a better site for a reservoir, 
underdrainage of the swamp will turn it to the growth 
of good grasses while the outflow from the drains can 
be concerted into garden crops below. 

Again even when the surface after the rainy season 
shows no sign of moisture, it is often possible to keep a 
good supply in sight by closing some small vale and dry 



SOURCES OF WATER. 51 

creek bed with a dam to hold for summer use in the 
garden some part of the volumes of water which rush 
down from the watershed during the winter rains. 

Subterranean Water Sources. — There are few places 
where water for a home garden cannot be had by well- 
digging and there are many large districts where flowing 
wells are secured by shallow boring. At the bases of hills 
horizontal wells or tunnels are frequently satisfactory. 
The capacity of these wells and tunnels is sometimes very 
great. They often warrant long-ditch lines or figure in 
the supply of towns and cities. Unquestionably the pres- 
ent development of water by these means is only a frac- 
tion of what is possible, and the owner of untried land 
should undertake a reasonable amount of prospecting. It 
is, of course, easy to waste money in this way, but if one 
proceeds after as full study as he can make of the surface, 
the outcroppings of rock, the experience of others in the 
same region, he is pretty sure to realize upon reasonable 
anticipations. 

Excavation in dry creek beds of gravel and boulders 
have often brought to light considerable underflow which 
has been arrested and the water stored by cement dams 
resting on the bedrock. 

Flowing wells and wells which bring the water near to 
the surface constitute the main source of subterranean 
water employed in California. They have reclaimed large 
districts which were formerly arid wastes and they are 
largely used also for summer crops in the regions of ample 
winter rains. Well borers equipped with good appliances 
are to be found in all parts of the State. 

WATER-LIFTING DEVICES. 

At this point it will be well to remark that any gardener 
is fortunate who has water brought to the highest point 
of his plantation by its own weight without a struggle on 
his part against the force of gravity, and yet there are, 
of course, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of instances of 



52 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

satisfactory home gardening by simple water-lifting de- 
vices. 

Horizontal Windmills. — Devices based upon the over- 
shot-wheel principle are used to some extent on this coast, 
but the summer winds at the ground surface are usually 
too light to operate them well. In its simplest form this 
windmill consists of four boards, about seven feet long, 
fastened to long arms projecting from an axle, which has 
bearings on two strong posts or a framework. The wind 
only strikes the upper part of the wheel, the lower part 
being inclosed by a board fence. In a slight breeze the 
mill revolves about 20 revolutions per minute, but in a 
good, stiff gale it flies so fast that a sliding board must 
be raised to shut off the wind. The wheel is connected 
with the plunger of the pump by means of a crank at one 
end of the axle. 

Gasoline and Crude Oil Engines. — These devices have 
been greatly improved during the last few years and are 
now being largely employed for water lifting for irriga- 
tion. There are several manufacturers in California, the 
fuel is very cheap here, and this, in connection with the 
ease with which the engines are managed, constitute them 
most economical and satisfactory agencies for pumping. 
The manufacturers give full information and can usually 
cite engines in operation in different localities where their 
performances can be personally ascertained. 

Steam Engines. — Pumping plants of great capacity 
operating by steam power are also in use for irrigation. 
Large vegetable growing enterprises render considerable 
investment in these lines profitable. Their construction 
and operation are, however, rather beyond the scope of 
this work. The advice of a mechanical engineer should 
be secured in all large undertakings. 

The Chinese Pump. — A water-lifting device which is 
very effective for a short lift, as from a ditch or stream 
to adjoining lands, is the Chinese pump, which has long 
been in use in California. It is a modified "Persian 



LIFTING WATER. 53 

wheel," and is so simple that it can be home-made with 
old threshing machine gearing or other mechanical junk. 
It consists of an endless belt working like the "elevator" 
or "straw carrier" of a threshing machine. For instance, 
take an old machine belt eight inches wide and twenty feet 
long or sew together strong canvas to make one. Make 
a box or trough about nine feet long, eight inches wide 
and six inches deep inside measurement, with no ends 
nor cover. Rig at each end of this box a wheel or pulley 
over which the endless belt can run. Fasten to the belt, 
a few inches apart, blocks scant eight inches long and 
four inches wide, so that the belt will have a flat surface 
on one side and the other crossed with the blocks. When 
this is placed in the box and over the pulleys at each end 
fasten the box securely in an inclined position with the 
lower end in the water, turn the upper pulley by a hand 
crank or a small belt from a source of power and the 
blocks will elevate the water and shoot it out from the 
top of the box in fine style. For a short lift this apparatus 
discharges quite a large volume of water with compara- 
tively little power. 

DEVICES FOR SELF-LIFTING WATER SUPPLY. 

Where running water is at hand in ample supply and 
with adequate velocity, the water can be made to lift itself 
to a distributing point, if not too high. The most capa- 
cious agencies belong to a class of motors called current 
wheels. 

Current Wheels. — A current wheel is an arrangement 
resembling the paddle wheel of a steamboat, with a cen- 
tral shaft acting as a hub for spoke-like arms which carry 
on their ends boxes or buckets. The wheel is hung by 
the projecting ends of the shaft so that the buckets are 
just covered under the surface of the water. The current 
catches them and caused the wheel to revolve ; the filled 
buckets are carried up as empty ones descend in the water. 
The filled buckets are emptied as the turning of the wheel 



54 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

inverts them, and the water is caught in a box properly 
placed and is then conducted by a flume to the point of 
discharge. Current wheels are largely used for short lifts 
from streams or irrigation ditches in which the water 
flows with sufficient velocity to revolve them. The wheels 
are usually home-made, and much ingenuity can be em- 
ployed in constructing them of available materials. 

Hydraidic Rams. — The hydraulic ram is wasteful in that 
it can deliver at a higher level but a fraction of the water 
furnished it and it requires a definite fall for its action. 
Where conditions are favorable it does become an effective 
agency because it acts incessantly and, with suitable stor- 
age, considerable amounts of water become available for 
irrigation. Manufacturers of hydraulic rams furnish full 
accounts of their requirements and achievements. 

A suggestive combination of current wheel and hy- 
draulic ram, in operation in this State, is described as 
follows : 

"A. P. Osborn's residence and the best part of his land 
are located on high grounds on the bank of the Tule river, 
at Rural. To get water on this land without going several 
miles up the river and bringing out a ditch, Mr. Osborn 
has placed in the river a wheel twenty-five feet in diameter 
and five feet wide. Surrounding this wheel on either side 
are forty boxes, each holding four gallons of water, mak- 
ing in all eighty boxes, with an entire lifting capacity of 
three hundred and twenty gallons at each revolution of 
the wheel, which is turned by the current of the river. 
As the boxes reach an elevation of tAveuty-two feet, the 
water in them is emptied into a flume, which conducts it 
onward into an irrigation ditch. This elevating the water 
twenty-two feet is only sufficient to place it on the flat 
whereon is done the farming, and will not take it to the 
knol] on which stands the residence. This is accomplished 
by a hydraulic ram. A part of the water reaching the top 
of the river bank is allowed to run l)<ie': down the steep 



THE USE OF SIPHONS. 55 

bank through a pipe, thus furnishing motive-power to run 
the ram, which sends water up to the house." 

Conveying Water by Siphon. — Conveying water over a 
hill to a point of delivery on the other side which is lower 
than the supply point is a simple operation and one which 
might be more generally employed than it is. Siphons 
are sometimes made of pipes of considerable diameter 
where the supply is large. Such devices are vastly cheaper 
than tunneling. It is even on record that a fruit grower 
put in quite an expensive pumping plant to force water 
over a hill to his orchard on the other side and was sur- 
prised to find that the water ran when the pump was not 
in motion. He had not figured that the delivery point 
was lower than the supply point, but so it was. In the 
case of conveying water from rivers to leveed lands below 
the stream, the siphon is cheaper than a flood-gate and 
safer, and has the advantage of being portable. 

FARM AND GARDEN RESERVOIRS. 
For the construction of a dam to restrain the water of 
a creek it is always wisest for the man who has had no 
experience in such work to secure the advice of an expert. 
Fortunately such men are very abundant in California, 
as dam building has been a profession of Californians ever 
since early mining days. The making of water-tight dams 
on a small scale is not necessarily a very expensive opera- 
tion, but it is liable to become so if not done properly. An 
experienced man can give suggestions as to the location 
of the work in view of the natural conditions and the use 
to be made of the water, the character of natural banks 
or bottom which it is designed to use and the best mate- 
rials at hand for building, as well as the proper form of 
the construction for safety and efficiency in connection 
with economical completion of the job. Expert advice is 
especially necessary where dams are to be built for closing 
natural waterways, for such efforts involve the handling 
of volumes of storm water which a farmer may have little 
conception of, though he may have grown up on the site. 



56 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

The excavation of a small reservoir to collect water 
from sources wholly apart from a natural watercourse is 
a simpler proposition and can easily be done with farm 
experience and appliances, and on this work some sug- 
gestions may be offered. 

First: Location is governed by local factors, but it 
should be at sufficient elevation to deliver the water freely 
at whatever point is involved in its use. 

Second : Its area will depend upon the prospective 
water supply. If this is ample, do not make the pond too 
small. A circular reservoir with an average depth of four 
feet through a circular space forty feet in diameter, will 
hold water enough to cover about two-thirds of an acre 
two inches deep. This will amount to a good soaking of 
a good-sized farm garden, and is probably as small a dirt 
reservoir as it will be worth while to make. For smaller 
storage wooden or galvanized-iron tanks can well be used. 

Third: In shape the circle is easiest to mark out and 
construct symmetrically and incloses the greatest possible 
area with the least length of bank, but on a small figure 
it may be a little easier to handle teams and scrapers on 
an oval. 

Fourth : A fairly retentive loam free from rock and 
rubbish, upon a clay subsoil, favors the easiest and cheap- 
est construction of a dirt reservoir, because with careful 
construction it can be made water-tight without using 
other materials. Clay is disposed to leak through cracking 
and sand will neither hold shape nor water. Clay and 
sand mixed forms an ideal material. 

Fifth : The earth surface under both the pond and the 
banks must be thoroughly cleaned of all sods and trash 
and the whole area plowed and harrowed well to make 
it as fine as possible. The dirt should not be dumped on 
the old surface to start the bank. When the whole is 
plowed and harrowed the scraper can be started, moving 
the dirt from the center to the banks, and each scraper 
load should be spread and lumps broken with a shovel at 



RESERVOIR BUILDING. 57 

once, leveling and filling hoofprints so that all tramping 
or pressure of the scraper in passing may tend toward 
even packing of the soil. All spots not reached by the 
team or tools should be tramped by the shoveler so that 
no loose dirt may be covered. This work should be con- 
tinued all through the building. The harrow should fol- 
low the plow in the bottom before the scraper moves the 
dirt to the bank. 

Sixth : The outflow pipe should be put in early. A 
wooden box is often used having an interior space of six 
by six inches, but a four or six inch lap-welded steel or 
cast-iron pipe is vastly better. It should have an elbow 
turned up on the inside so that a plug with a long handle 
can be used to open or close the exit. A valve is better 
than a plug, but it costs more. The pipe should be bedded 
in a mass of concrete so that it will not be loosened by 
working the exit apparatus. 

Seventh : The width of the embankment is governed 
by its height. The slopes with the best of earth should 
not be less than two feet horizontal to one foot vertical 
on the inside ; and if the material is light, three to one 
on the outside will be none too much. 

Eighth : The bottom and inside of the reservoir banks 
should be well puddled. This is done by thorough plowing 
and harrowing or cultivating to a depth of eight inches 
and then admitting water slowly and keep the teams going 
with the harrow. Begin at the center and work round 
and round until the mud becomes as smooth as pancake 
batter, working and reworking away from the center until 
the puddle is carried well up the sloping bank. This 
puddle layer, if the soil is fitted for it, will make the 
pond hold water. 

A Small Reservoir in Sandy Soil. — The foregoing con- 
struction will not hold water if the materials are too coarse 
in character. Where percolation is free a water-tight cov- 
ering for the bottom and banks must be provided. This 
can be done by hauling in clay for a puddle or the reser- 



58 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

voir after shaping may be cemented. In parts of the State 
where asphaltum is abundant this material is very satis- 
factorily used, the asphaltum being melted, mixed with 
sand and spread on hot and smoothed down well with hot 
shovels and hoes. 

Cement can be used in the form of a mortar made of 
six parts sharp clean sand to one part Portland cement. 
Apply two coats, and then brush over with a whitewash 
of clear cement and water. It is not necessary to make 
walls of brick or stone on which to cement. Cemented 
directly on the earth, even if it be sand or gravel, answers 
perfectly. As we have no earth-freezing such work is 
safe. If there should be cracks, give a coat of clear cement 
and water and it will close them up. 

The use of clay puddle is also very satisfactory. The 
following is the plan of construction followed by Mr. Ed- 
ward Berwick, of Carmel valley, Monterey county, in 
building a reservoir which has stood thirty years of con- 
stant use : 

"My reservoir is eightly feet in diameter and made on 
land with a slope of say one in forty. I drove a peg in 
for a center, took a forty-foot line and marked a circle. 
I dug a trench eighteen inches in width, sa}' three feet 
deep where the land level was lowest and five feet where 
it was highest, so that the ditch bottom was level. I filled 
the ditch with puddled clay, well tamped, then excavated 
a width of perhaps ten feet, just inside the clay ring, to 
the level required for the reservoir bottom. I lined this 
ten feet of floor with clay, being careful to unite the clay 
of the ditch ring with this floor. Then began clearing out 
the middle of the reservoir and banking up on this ten- 
foot floor, and also on outside, at the same time adding 
clay to the ditch ring as the embankment grew. 

"When the required excavation was made, cleared up 
well to the edge of the ten-foot wide floor, I put in the 
clay for the rest of the bottom, uniting it, of course, with 
the teii feet already laid, but now covered with the inner 



RESERVOIR BUILDING. 59 

embankment. A three-inch discharge pipe was laid at the 
bottom, with necessary fittings. 

"The reservoir is nearly seven feet deep when filled, 
and forms an excellent bathing tank for the family in 
addition to its irrigation service." 

This is a very thorough style of construction. It would 
be cheaper to excavate as described in the previous list 
of suggestions and then trust to a clay layer evenly spread 
over the bottom and sloping sides, but the use of the pud- 
dle trench and flat floor is surer to hold water. The puddle 
trench is carried to the top of the bank : clay layering on 
the sloping bank will crack as the water is drawn down 
and is apt to be leaky. Mr. Berwick has scraped out a 
very rich deposit of mud and decayed leaves and water 
weed once since he built the reservoir, thus obtaining a 
considerable amount of fertilizer, and after scraping, the 
bottom was given a new floor of clay. He has also raised 
the sides of the reservoir one foot and put in exit pipes of 
four and six inches to release water in difi^erent directions. 

Stone or Brick Walls for Reservoirs. — Very shapely but 
rather more expensive walls can of course be made of 
stone or brick laid in cement, and in this way the water 
contents of the same diameter can be increased. The bot- 
tom can be puddled or clayed or cemented, according to 
the character of the ground or the taste of the builder. 

Subterranean Reservoirs. — Large shallow wells are often 
the cheapest reservoirs, and with pumps of large outflow 
sufficient head is secured for direct application to the dis- 
tributing ditches. Tunnels are also subterranean reser- 
voirs and are frequently used as such. Both these wells 
and tunnels are economical of water, as evaporation is 
very slight. The following is an instance : 

"Mr. C. L. Durban saj's that the cheapest reservoir that 
a man can build on his land for retaining water for irri- 
gation purposes is a tunnel run into a hill. An open res- 
ervoir in a caiion or other suitable place, will lose one-third 
of its water during the summer from evaporation, while 



60 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

in a tunnel there is no loss. A small spring will supply 
a tunnel with sufficient water for many purposes. He has 
illustrated this in a practical manner. On his own land at 
Mesilla valley, he ran a tunnel thirty-five feet long into 
a hill, in so doing tapping a spring ; this tunnel he dammed 
up, leaving a space thirty-five feet long and the size of 
the tunnel, which is about five feet by six feet, to be filled 
with water. The water he carried to his house in pipes, 
and we observed that it supplied his dwelling, another 
near by, his barn and drying-house for raisins, as well as 
irrigated quite a space devoted to flowers for a garden. 
He says that the tunnel is the cheapest and best form, and 
that for each dollar expended one can obtain a space equal 
to twenty-five cubic feet." 

Another form of subterranean reservoir consists of 
trenches filled up to the plow-depth with broken rock. It 
is practiced to a limited extent only. It is prodigiously 
expensive and seems only worthy of consideration in the 
improvement of a hillside home place, where satisfaction 
is not conditioned upon cost. A California instance of 
the system is the following: 

"The grounds have too great a slope for spraying, 
and instead of supplying surface ditches, the owner con- 
structed permanent trenches, which have no outlet except 
by seepage. These trenches extend one hundred feet in 
length along the face of the slope, each being eighteen 
inches deep and thirty inches wide. The earth was scat- 
tered on the upper side of each cut, and by a little care 
in plowing the garden was terraced into slopes of less 
grade, each one hundred feet long and twenty-eight feet 
wide. As a driveway passes along each end of the ter- 
races, nearly all the cultivation is done by a horse turning 
on the driveways. The trenches are designed as minia- 
ture reservoirs, and are kept nearly full, when irrigation 
is required, by a small stream flowing from one-half-inch 
stand pipes at one end of each trench. This is also a form 



RAISED AND LOWERED BEDS. 61 

of sub-irrigation as well as storage, for the water reaches 
the roots of the plants on the terrace by seepage." 

THE APPLICATION OF WATER. 

Many methods are followed in the distribution of water 
in the garden. Which is the best method must be deter- 
mined largely by the character of the soil, and to meet 
this requirement one must sometimes sacrifice some of the 
incidental advantages of other methods. 

Checks and Depressed Beds.— Where the garden soil is 
very light, open and leachy, the vegetables are often grown 
in checks or divisions larger or smaller, according to the 
slope of the land ; the checks being inclosed by little banks 
or levees which hold the water from escape except as it 
sinks vertically into the soil. This is the only way by 
which a leachy soil can be uniformly moistened, except by 
sprinkling, which is seldom economical and is seldom fol- 
lowed in California except in village garden practice. 
The banks of the checks serve as walks upon which one 
can go dry-shod from place to place and regulate the dis- 
tribution of water. The garden then, during irrigation, 
shows the plants growing in shallow vats of water of 
irregular shape and size, and when the water sinks away 
they are seen to be in sunken beds. This system sadly 
interferes with the use of the horse in cultivation unless 
the ground is practically level and the checks can be made 
very large. In small checks the cultivation must be done 
by hand. Market gardeners do this faithfully, but the 
amateur is apt to be careless about it and to trust to 
frequently filling the checks instead of regularly stirring 
the soil. This tends to cement the surface, exclude the 
air and make the soil sodden. The plants lose their free, 
healthy growth and show their distress. 

Raised Beds,— These are just the reverse of the check 
system, for the ground surface is raised a little by the 
dirt thrown out in excavating narrow ditches about four 
or five feet apart through which the water is allowed to 



62 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

flow slowly if the ground is nearly level ; if slightly sloping 
small dams are made at such distances apart as are neces- 
sary to hold the water at about uniform depth below the 
surfaces of the beds. In this system the distribution of 
water is very largely accomplished by the capillarity of 
the soil, though the market gardeners who affect this 
method also shower the plants from time to time by throw- 
ing the water up from the ditch with a scoop shovel or 
a shallow pan. The narrow ditches serve as walks in 
working around the beds and rubber boots are in request. 
By this system ample water supplies are constantly had 
within reach of the roots, and as the surface is never pud- 
dled it is easy to keep it loose and open to the air. When 
the crop is gathered the whole field is deeply broken up 
wnth the plow and harrow and the whole system laid out 
anew, as soon as, in the course of rotation, a crop requir- 
ing such hydropathic treatment comes again to the ground. 

Permanent Ditches. — The use of permanent ditches was 
formerly very common in the irrigation of sloping garden 
ground and is still somewhat observed. These ditches are 
drawn very nearly on contour lines, only just enough fall 
being given to move the water slowly. When the slope is 
nearly uniform the ditches are almost parallel and they 
are distanced according to what is known of the movement 
of water by seepage down the slope in each particular 
soil. The plantings are made on the plan of each strip 
securing its moisture from the ditch above, and water is 
admitted occasionally or kept running almost continu- 
ously according to the needs of the particular crop or 
the leakiness of the ditch. The outflow from the ditch, 
after traversing backward and forward its full length, is 
carried to an alfalfa patch below and thus utilized. These 
permanent ditches serve a good purpose in saving hill- 
sides from washing as they catch the surface storm water 
before it has a chance to acquire much headway and carry 
it down gently. Where the soil favors such distribution 
very good results are attained with these ditches, but 



RAISED AND LOWERED BEDS. 



63 



the tendency is to use the ditches too long and allow 
them to become cemented by action of water and deposit 
of slime. Besides, they grow weeds and distribute seeds 
if their banks are neglected. In most cases it is better 
to employ less permanency — breaking up the ground and 
locating new ditches at shorter intervals of time. 

Lowland Irrigation by Seepage. — Another form of irri- 
gation by means of permanent ditches is that practiced 



nw- 



T 



,^ '^^'S^i^*' "f"":^^^- 




DEPRESSED BEDS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEM. 



-0^m^0^: 







RAISED BEDS OR RIDGES IRRIGATED BY CAPILLARITY. 



on reclaimed lands along the interior rivers. When the 
rivers are swollen from summer melting of snow in the 
high Sierra, the water is brought to the land by flood- 
gates in the levees. When the rivers are low very capa- 
cious pumping plants are used — the same serving at other 
times to drain the lands when they are too wet from the 
rainfall or seepage. The soils of these reclaimed lands 
are loose and prone to dry out because of their lack of 
capillarity, so that at times irrigation is as necessary as 



64 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

on uplands. The water is distributed by means of small, 
rather deep, ditches from which moisture readily extends 
as the water moves out over the clay bottom which 
underlies most of these lands and makes it possible to 
hold the water up within reach of the roots of the plants. 
With rich land, high heat and ample moisture just below 
the surface the growth is almost marvelous. On these 
lowlands flooding the surface frequently seriously injures 
the plants by sun scald. 

Ridge System of Irrig-ating and. Planting. — Another 
plan of using seepage from permanent ditches is the ridge 
system by which the water is run at a little elevation 
above the surface, upright plants being placed beside 
the water on the top of the rigdes and running plants 
on the sides of the ridges with the lower ground between 
the ridges for the extension of their growth. The gen- 
eral significance of the arrangement lies in keeping the 
water supply constant near the roots, and it is adapted 
to rather open soils in which lateral percolation is defi- 
cient. The elevation of the ditch thus helps to hold moist- 
ure near the surface on which the plants are placed 
without resorting to flooding as in the check system. It 
is obviously well adapted to a region of very light rain- 
fall and can be laid out in a way to drain the ridges 
when surplus water has to be disposed of. It involves 
a large amount of hard work. In a locality where both 
summer and winter gardening must be largely dependent 
upon irrigation it has striking advantages. The follow- 
ing description is from a Kern county vegetable grower, 
after several years' satisfactory experience with the 
method : 

"In preparing the ground make it as near level as pos- 
sible, and cover the soil with about two inches of manure 
(avoiding coarse straw or stalks), and plow this under 
six to eight inches deep. Then harrow and cultivate until 
the soil is smooth and fine. Use a wire or line to lay out 
the ground; spread fine manure (well rotted is prefer- 



METHODS WITH IRRIGATION. 65 

able) two feet wide and one inch thick, on a line directly 
from your windmill or tank across the plat of ground. 
Take a plow and turn two furrows together directly over 
the manure, making a high ridge. Smooth and firm the 
soil with a rake or hoe, and directly on top and length- 
wise of the ridge form a ditch or trough about five inches 
wide and three inches deep, on a grade so the water will 
run from one end of the ridge to the other, connecting 
the ends so that the water will run the entire length of 
all the ridges without any attention; or you can make 
the ridges around the plat, which will enable you to dis- 
tribute the water from the ridge to any point desired by 
means of a small piece of pipe inserted in the edge of 
the trough, always maintaining a uniformity of moisture, 
which is absolutely necessary for the growth of certain 
vegetables. Run the water through the ditch until it is 
settled and well moistened, then plant the seed at the 
base and either side of the ridge. 

"Do not allow the water to rise up over the beds under 
any circumstances. If the work is properly done the 
water will run through the ditches in the high ridges 
and from their termination will continue from from one 
trench to another, till each bed in the plat is nicely moist- 
ened, and after once thoroughly wet and settled it will 
not require more than one-half of the water it does at 
first, unless the soil is very sandy and loose. Remember 
it is the small stream long drawn out that counts and 
gives the best results." 

Practice With This System. — Concerning practice with 
the different vegetables and the preparation of ridges 
and beds for them, the following suggestions are given : 

"Plant melons and winter squash seven feet apart on 
each side of the ridge, which should be eight feet apart 
for these varieties, and about five feet apart for corn, 
beans, summer crook-neck squash, cucumbers, and toma- 
toes. After preparing the ground and planting the seed 
neither the ditch nor plants will require much attention 



66 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

more than to keep the weeds out. For the growth of 
other vegetables, such as peas, cauliflower, cabbage, car- 
rots, parsnips, beets, radish, lettuce, asparagus, egg plant, 
spinach, peppers, onions, garlic, rhubarb, and tomato 
plants, prepare the ground by forming into beds fourteen 
inches wide and two inches higher in the center than on 
either ridge, with a small trench between them six inches 
wide and three inches deep. They can be made wider 
and deeper if a large amount of water is available. After 
the beds are prepared run the water through them and 
recrossing the beds that are defective, so the water will 
rise to a uniform height on each, within about one inch 
of the top. Make a depression on each side of the bed 
two and one-half inches from the edge with a hoe and 
one and one-half inches deep. Sow the seed not less than 
one-half inch apart and be very careful not to cover the 
seed more than one-half inch deep. Every good seed will 
grow, and those which are to remain in the rows must 
be properly thinned out. When tomato plants are from 
three to five inches tall, transplant them on either side 
of the high ridges, five feet apart in the row. Transplant 
cabbage and egg plants when they are from two to three 
inches tall, in vacant beds, the former eighteen inches 
apart in the row for early and close heading varieties, 
and twenty-eight inches apart for late and spreading 
varieties, and egg plants twenty-four inches apart in the 
row. A pint of fine manure from the cow-yard placed 
six inches below the surface under each plant will insure 
a cabbage from nearly every plant. Pepper plants should 
be transplanted eighteen inches apart in the row." 

Picturesque Irrig-ation. — A modification of the perma- 
nent ditch plan is quite widely practiced on the sand 
hills south of San Francisco. The water is lifted from 
wells by windmills, the discharge from the pump being 
taken at such elevation that it will flow in a small flume 
supported by a trestle to the highest point of the land 
to be irrigated. Hence the water is carried in small con- 



WINDMILLS FOR IRRIGATION. 67 

tour ditches hither and thither until every corner of the 
very irregular slopes is reached. Short lines of vegeta- 
bles are planted about at right angles to these small 
permanent ditches and short spurs made with the hoe 
so that the water is brought beside each individual plant. 
As the slope is so broken and the soil so open, anything 
like uniform seepage is out of the question. The appear- 
ance of these gardens is exceedingly picturesque with 
the little beds tucked in here and there, showing varying 
shades of green o nminiature terraces and slopes and 
flats irregularly intermingled often within the area of 
an acre or two — the lines of the mill frame and flume 
trestle so thin and long and intercrossed as to suggest 
that a colossal spider had spun her weg upon the verdure. 
All this is hand Avork and back work in cultivation and 
irrigation, in carrying manure up and produce down, 
and represents a fragment of the south of Europe east 
upon the map of California. 

Small Furrow Distribution. — All the foregoing methods 
of distribution may suggest something for the American 
farm garden in California providing the soil and situation 
are best served in such ways, but for the most part the 
farm garden will be upon land of moderate slope with 
loams which take water well and are fairly retentive of 
it. Under such circumstances the distribution of water 
in many small streams along furrows drawn by a small 
plow, accomplishing complete moistening without flood- 
ing of the surface, is the system to be adopted and con- 
scientiously practiced. It is most economical of water 
not only, in the first application but by conservation of its 
moisture by the thorough surface cultivation which must 
follow each irrigation. Water is carried along the ridge 
or ridges of the tract in a plank flume, of dimensions 
proportional to the size of the area to be irrigated, and 
with many openings, to be closed or opened at pleasure, 
so that small streams of water can be brought out into 
many small furrows and allowed to proceed slowly until 



68 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

they reach the bottom where the surplus may be caught 
in a cross-furrow and carried to other uses. By this 
method the water can be evenly distributed with hardly 
a stroke of hand-work, and the soil, with surface always 
open to access of air, and never allowed to compact itself 
around the plants, affords conditions perfectly adapted 
to thrifty, quick growth of the plants. This method con- 
forms best with the most economical laying off of the 
farm garden, viz. : the planting in long rows with uni- 
form interspaces so that horse-power and the best imple- 
ments can be employed to their fullest extent in every 
operation from the seed planting to the gathering of the 
crop. 

Furrow Irrig-ation on Hillsides. — It is often desirable 
to make the farm garden on a hillside, and this can be 
managed by horse-work without terracing more easily 
than one might think at first. The plan must be to work 
nearly on contour lines in laying out the rows of vegeta- 
bles and in the subsequent cultivation and irrigation. 
The following will be found suggestive in regard to the 
distribution of water : 

"The water is delivered from a flume laid down the 
hillside, and fitted with cleats at each hole so as to throw 
off enough water at the sides, or sometimes the flume is 
laid in steps connected with a bit of covered flume from 
step to step. The latter is best for very steep hills, 
though, with care, the other may be used on a greater 
slope than one would imagine. Another flume should be 
laid at the end of the furrows to carry off the waste 
water. 

"The contours may be laid out by anyone with a car- 
penter's common level. Fifty-five feet to the mile is 
nearly right for a very fine stream on most soils. And 
this is about one foot in ninety-six, or two inches in six- 
teen feet. Therefore, take a sixteen-foot plank and level 
it to a slope of two inches in its whole length. Then 
when the upper edge is level, the lower edge will repre- 



FURROW IRRIGATION. 69 

sent the required grade for ,yoiir ditch. In this way the 
work can be done very rapidly. 

''The same thing is equally good for laying common 
little flumes, cement ditches, etc. But in earth, one should 
determine by trial the amount of slope the soil will stand 
without cutting or filling up with sediment or refusing 
to run fast enough in case the soil is very porous. A 
mistake of a few inches in a hundred feet will generally 
not be serious, but the more nearly exact you can get it 
the better. Every approach to perfection in your first 
arrangements diminishes your future work and annoy- 
ance. 

"All manner of stuff is now raised in this way in Cali- 
fornia on hillsides that a few years ago, when covered 
with brush, seemed too steep and rough even to plow. 
When once made, the furrows, of course, are left in place, 
but the water finds its way to the center between them 
quite as well as on more level ground." 

Irrigation by Sprinkling. — Systems of iron pipe laid 
below reach of plow and spade and furnished with stand 
pipes and revolving sprinklers, or other showering de- 
vices, have been successfully used to a limited extent, 
and some have strongly favored them in spite of the con- 
siderable cost of the outfit. They are worthy of consid- 
eration where water under adequate pressure is avail- 
able. They are labor-saving, but they encourage neglect 
of cultivation, and to that extent are undesirable, espe- 
cially on soils which harden on drying. 

Sub-irrigation by Tile or Pipes. — Californians have been 
experimenting with subterranean distribution with tile 
or specially constructed pipes and outlets for probably 
more than forty years, and yet none of the proposed sys- 
tems has ever come into use except under the eye of the 
inventor. In early days, iron troughs inverted on red- 
wood boards ; small flumes or boxes of redwood boards ; 
bricks set on edge and covered with boards; drain tile 
with and without perforations — all these were suggested, 



70 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

given trial, and abandoned. All experiments proceeded 
upon the plan of thus making permanent water conduits 
below the point reached in spading or plowing, and they 
all became inoperative. The failure was usually charged 
to the filling of the pipes with plant roots, and in some 
cases this was seen to be the reason. In other cases the 
failure of the system was due to the fact that in light 
soils lacking capillarity, the water rapidly sank away 
from the pipes out of the reach of the roots, and shallow- 
rooting platns failed, though there was moisture flowing 
to waste through a pervious subsoil. About thirty years 
ago Mr. E. M. Hamilton of East Los Angeles invented 
a system of continuous cement pipes laid by a machine 
operating in the trench which prevent access of roots 
because it had openings only at intervals where the water 
was discharged into air spaces, each of which could be 
seen through a vertical pipe rising to the surface aud 
furnished with a cover. This worked well for many years 
on Mr. Hamilton's place for the irrigation of trees or 
other deep-rooting plants at considerable distances apart, 
for which use it seems best suited. To fill the earth with 
such pipes with openings near enough together to serve 
for shallow-rooting vegetables, is appallingly expensive, 
and the stand pipes encumber the surface so that nothing 
but hand spading or cultivating could be done without 
destruction of them. 

At the East within a few years the use of the drain 
tile laid along the rows of vegetables near the surface 
has given the best results in an experimental way. By 
this plan the tile are to be taken up and relaid for each 
crop, which can be quickly done. Water thus adminis- 
tered may serve well in soil not disposed to puddle down 
or possibly may be more successful where the summer 
air is less dry and soil baking less active than in Cali- 
fornia, but in many of our garden soils the soil would 
solidify, and even if moisture were adequate to prevent 



WINTER IRRIGATION. 71 

baking, the proper entrance of air would be largely pre- 
vented. 

The experience of Californians is against any such ar- 
rangement of soil and water. Except in such soils as 
have already been described as working well by seepage 
systems, surface application of water followed by thor- 
ough surface cultivation produces, as a rule, the best com- 
bination of moisture, heat, aeration, and rapid root-exten- 
sion, which pushes the plant to its utmost in rapid and 
satisfactory growth. 

WINTER IRRIGATION. 

Winter irrigation is increasing in California as a surety 
that the year's water supply will be above a certain 
minimum. Deciduous trees and vines, on soil that is 
fairly retentive, can be carried through a satisfactory 
year's growth and fruiting, with good cultivation, by ar- 
tificially soaking the soil in winter. In this way injury 
to the trees or vines by a year of scant rainfall is avoided. 
The practice has not the same value in garden practice, 
because there still will remain the demand for summer 
irrigation if succession of fresh vegetables is to be se- 
cured. But for ample crops of staple field vegetables 
which are usually grown without summer irrigation, the 
winter-soaking method is of the same importance that it 
is with fruit trees — it insures ample moisture every year. 

Fall and winter irrigation are very important in gar- 
dening in regions of uncertain rainfall, because they 
bring the soil into condition for the early planting which 
is often the secret of satisfaction and success. In south- 
ern California, and the interior of the central regions of 
the State as well, he who waits for rainfall to start his 
gardening often loses half the season's producing capac- 
ity. In these parts of the State the rain at its maximum 
is seldom excessive, consequently one incurs no danger 
but invites every benefit by wetting the soil well and 
going to work at least with the hardier vegetables while 
the autumn sunshine still imparts warmth to the soil. 



72 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

The use of winter storm water often results in a con- 
siderable contribution to the fertility of the soil in the 
form of silt and other materials rich in plant food. 

HOW MUCH IRRIGATION IS NEEDED? 

It is impossible to answer this question exactly for an}^ 
crop^ but it can be approximated more nearly for an or- 
chard or vineyard or a field crop than for a garden, which 
should be held up to its maximum of free water nearly 
all the time. Evidently the requirement for gardening 
is greater than for any other cropping. How much water 
will be required to hold any piece of land up to its best 
estate of moisture, depends upon the plant grown, the 
soil and subsoil, the slope and exposure, the local heat 
and dryness of the air, the rainfall, etc. The quantity 
can, then, only be determined for each piece of ground 
with the data of its conditions and environment, and the 
observing man will allow the plants to tell him by their 
vigor and speed of growth how the supply suits them. 

Ardquate Use of Water Essential. — Beyond any theo- 
retical computation of the amount of water needed, it is 
one of the plainest teachings of California experience 
that good, thorough soaking of the ground is the secret 
of satisfactory results. Surface sprinkling without pene- 
tration is a delusion even in lawn growing. It gives the 
impression of moisture when the roots of the plant may 
be famishing in dry ground. Pouring on water from a 
watering pot, though it be once every day, will make 
a brick to inclose the plant stem and roots if the soil be 
prone to bake. On larger scale work it has been fully 
demonstrated that for productiveness a small piece of 
ground thoroughly soaked with water and then as thor- 
oughly cultivated on the surface to kill weeds and pre- 
vent the waste of moisture into the air by evaporation, 
is preferable to twice the surface only half watered. One 
very thorough wetting, with good cultivation, will pro- 
duce better results than several superficial waterings. 



MUST BE MOISTURE ENOUGH. 73 

And in this way the water can be used the most econom- 
ically by accomplishing the most good with the least 
labor. ^ 

Another very important point is to keep the moisture 
supply always adequate. One who waits till the plants 
show distress has lost his chance. One of our experienced 
growers very pertinently says: "If we allow our ground 
to get the least bit dry the vegetables are stunted in 
growth, and then it takes several days to catch up again, 
if it ever does. I hold that a stunted vegetable is as 
bad as a stunted calf or pig. It is never as good as if it 
was pushed right along from the beginning." 



CHAPTER VI 
GARDEN DRAINAGE IN CALIFORNIA. 

It may be remarked, as a generalization based upon a 
wide view of our two-season year, that the secret of 
success in California vegetable growing consists in getting 
plants "out of the wet" at one time and into it at an- 
other. It would, perhaps, be more exact to say that 
success lies in securing generous but not excessive moist- 
ure at all times, and this is essential to the best growth 
of the plant in any climate. And yet so strikingly antith- 
etical are our moisture-extremes at the height of the 
two seasons, and so characteristic, both in times and meth- 
ods, are the policies and practices by which we modify 
both to the best advantage, that the world-wide princi- 
ples to which they conform are out of sight of the casual 
observer. For it is not only that we have always to 
guard against extremes of saturation and aridity and 
keep the plant along the lines of sufficiency — that is the 
universal proposition. In addition to this, California, 
speaking generally, has to do special work against one 
extreme at one time and against the other extreme at 
another time ; hence the opening remark. 

Regulation of moisture in California either involves 
more considerations than are usually recognized in humid 
climates or involves them in higher degree and imputes 
to them increased significance. Choice of location and 
soil ; time and method of planting and cultivation ; the 
choice of the crop with reference to natural moisture 
supply and the atmospheric conditions ; the employment 
of irrigation ; and the desirability, or otherwise, of arti- 
ficial drainage facilities — all these are factors which are 
perhaps more sharply concerned in results here than in 



BENEFITS OP DRAINAGE. 75 

humid climates, because our extremes, in all except low 
temperatures, are more exacting. Correct practice here 
gives grand results, but ill-timed or illy adapted practice 
does not give merely less satisfactory results : it invites 
failure. Our drainage proposition must always be con- 
ditioned upon proper conservation of moisture, and, as 
will be seen as we proceed with the discussion, contem- 
plated artificial drainage may have the power to make or 
ruin a crop if its action is not intelligently employed, or 
intelligently rejected, as the case may require. 

Benefits of Drainage. — -It may be admitted at the outset 
that in regions of heavy rainfall or in locations subject 
to much percolation from higher lands, underdrainage 
may be necessary to satisfactory use of the land in win- 
ter gardening unless the soil is deep and free enough to 
readily dispose of the surplus water. As a matter of 
fact, it is necessary in some eases, and gratifying results 
follow in lowering the ground water, admitting air, warm- 
ing the soil, making it hospitable to the plant, rendering 
fertility available and lengthening the growing season 
of the plant both by these services and by making the 
soil sooner amenable to tillage and susceptible of better 
tilth. All these are general drainage principles applicable 
here as elsewhere and in some soils and situations the 
same method of application is best, viz. : thorough under- 
drainage preferably with tile but also attainable with 
trenches partly filled with rock, or with regular runways 
with placed stones or poles or boards or whatever may 
be most available to the person at the time. In drainage 
for garden purposes, however, it is not necessary that 
the water table should be lowered as far as is essential 
to the satisfactory growth of trees, nor is it desirable 
generally that it should be. Tile laid two feet from the 
surface will answer in most cases if the land lies well 
for the outflow of the drainage. 

Conserving Moisture. — The general purpose in Califor- 
nia gardening must be to save moisture, not to facilitate 



76 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

its escape. It is especially important in an arid country 
that the lower strata of the soil should be a storage reser- 
voir for the use of the plant in the dry season. This 
fact underlies the recommendations for cultivation which 
will be given in a later chapter, but it also has intimate 
relations with the subject of drainage. Evidently, re- 
course to drainage should not endanger the generously 
adequate moisture supply which the plant needs, and 
for this reason the almost universal exhortation in gar- 
dening treatises for humid climates: "first of all, deeply 
drain your soil," either subject the trusting Calif ornian to 
a useless expense, or, worse than that, makes his land less 
suited to his purpose than it was before the expenditure 
was made. 

For it should be noted : first, that our light deep loams 
which are chiefly used for garden purposes, can naturally 
dispose of all the surplus water which the clouds afford 
them ; second, our heavier soils sometimes make a great 
surface show of saturation when the lower layers have 
really far less than their holding capacity, because per- 
colation is slow, not only by nature of the soil but by the 
lack of thorough tillage which would help to hold a large 
precipitation until the soil could absorb it; third, our 
soils dispose of moisture very rapidly during the dry in- 
tervals of the rainy season, and this can be increased by 
winter cultivation which should not aim to fine the sur- 
face but to open it to the air ; fourth, by their active 
winter growth, the plants themselves pump from the sur- 
face layer volumes of water, the escape of which opens 
the way for capillarity to relieve lower layers of their 
surplus, and thus the active roots help to prepare the 
way for their own farther extension. 

Really, then, what California soils need for winter gar- 
den purposes is natural surface drainage, viz., downward 
into thirsty lower layers : upward into the air by evap- 
oration from earth-surfaces or plant-surfaces. "Where 
this is not adequate to the relief of surface saturation 



WHEN TO DRAIN LANDS. 77 

and consequent preparation for seed sowing, very simple 
artificial surface drainage is usually effective. This can 
be mainly accomplished with the plow, first by opening 
drainage furrows at proper intervals, and this is often 
all that is needed to dispose of surplus water; second, 
by ridging with the plow which prepares long seed beds 
a little above the general surface and at the same time 
leaves channels for the escape of the water; third, by 
opening deeper surface-drains to act directly or to re- 
ceive and speed the departure of the outflow from the 
open furrows. All of these forms of treatment, selected 
according to the degree of the need of drainage, have 
proved widely satisfactory and have facilitated magnifi- 
cent winter growth of vegetables upon heavy adobe soils 
in some of our regions of heaviest winter rains. The ac- 
tion is quicker than underdraining because percolation is 
notably slow in such soil. It removes the surplus from 
the surface just at the time that its absence is most de- 
sirable and it leaves the moisture stored below to rise 
as the demand for it advances. On the other hand, under- 
drainage, where it is not imperatively demanded by ex- 
ceptional conditions, has clearly acted too slowly to bring 
the surface speedily into satisfactory condition and has 
acted too long in drawing away more water than is desira- 
ble from below and has then continued as a very effec- 
tive hot-air system for farther drying of soil-substance 
which should have retained more moisture to supply the 
plant and foster capillary action from still lower layers. 
In the writer's own experience shallow-rooting plants 
have dwindled over tile lines while those midway be- 
tween the lines were growing rapidly. 

Conditions Determining Recourse to Underdrainage. — 

It may be well to specify a few of the conditions which 
should determine whether underdrainage should be pro- 
vided in land under consideration for vegetable growing. 
Of course, the claim already alluded to, that any piece 
of soil selected for gardening must be first underdrained, 



78 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

is an exaggeration anywhere in the world probably, be- 
cause there are areas of naturally well-drained soil every- 
where. Enough has been said of California garden soils 
to show that the most of them are of this character and 
that no probable amount of rainfall would injure them. 
The exception has also been sufficiently characterized in 
the chapter on soils. 

To reach assurance for or against underdrainage in par- 
ticular cases one has to consider the soil, the rainfall, 
the character of the root growth to be ministered to, the 
growing season of the crop, and the practice of irrigation. 

The mere amount of rainfall is so intimately related 
to soil texture, depth, subsoil, slope, and exposure that, 
considered alone, it affords no guide whatever to the 
need of artificial drainage. There are many situations re- 
ceiving an annual rainfall of forty to sixty inches which 
not only do not need underdrainage but, on the other 
hand, irrigation must be employed as early as May to 
supply the requirements of shallow-rooting plants. There 
are either coarse, leachy soils or else shallow loams lying 
upon sloping and porous bedrock. Leaving these out of 
consideration, it is doubtful whether any land, even of 
quite retentive character, receiving a rainfall of not more 
than twenty-five inches, distributed as California rainfall 
usually is, needs underdrainage for garden purposes. Of 
course, this claim clearly presupposes that the land in 
question does not receive any considerable amount of 
water by overflow or underflow by seepage from higher 
land. Any such rainfall as noted can probably be con- 
trolled by such surface use or surface release as have 
already been described, or by such early and deep culti- 
vation as the garden should receive, there can be stored 
in the soil the moderate residuum remaining from the 
amount of rainfall indicated, and under favorable circum- 
stances a greater rainfall can be thus disposed of. 

Deep-rooting plants like fruit trees will of course be 
injured by saturation of the subsoil which would not in- 



IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE. 79 

jure garden vegetables, therefore underdrainage of the 
orchard is a different proposition from that of the garden. 
It should be stated for the distant reader that the term 
' ' garden ' ' in California is not understood to include fruit 
trees, except in villages or suburban places. 

The growing season of the vegetable crop is also re- 
lated to the matter of underdrainage. While the winter 
garden on a retentive soil in a region of quite large rain- 
fall, may be greatly improved by underdrainage, the sum- 
mer growth of the same plants perhaps, and of field crops 
of shallow-rooting vegetables, may be benefited by such 
surface treatment during the winter as shall promote the 
absorption and retention of the whole rainfall to the soil 
and subsoil. This practice may insure the perfection of 
a crop without irrigation which could not be grown on 
a less retentive soil nor on one currently drained on its 
surplus water. 

The practice of irrigation may create a need for under- 
drainage which may not exist on land used for rainfall- 
gardening. If the soil is naturally well drained this need 
will not, however, occur, unless the natural escape of sur- 
plus water has been destroyed by rise of the bottom water 
which has, in some large districts in California, followed 
excessive irrigation, and the seepage of water from leaky 
ditches. Especially unfortunate, too, has it been that this 
rise of the ground water has brought within reach of cap- 
illary action and surface evaporation alkaline salts which 
are destructive to vegetation. But here again the growth 
of vegetables can be successfully pursued on lands with 
water too near the surface to favor fruit trees, providing 
the rise of alkali does not occur. For the growth of vege- 
tables, then, it is not generally imperative that the land 
be underdrained, even if Irrigation is practiced, though 
there are cases of retentive soils in which this is desirable. 
In irrigation in a humid climate where a heavy downfall 
of rain may immediately follow a saturation by irrigation. 



80 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

underdrainage is a safeguard. California, with a rainless 
summer, is freed from this danger. 

Too great emphasis, even to indulgence in repetition, 
can hardly be placed upon the point of view held in this 
work. We are dealing for the most part with plants which 
are used before maturity and in which large free growth 
of foliage stem and seed vessel are the points desired and 
not mature seed. Most of these plants are also shallow- 
rooted and are concerned in the lower layers of soil, not 
as a place of root activity, but rather as a reservoir of 
moisture and a storehouse of plant food which shall come 
to them dissolved in the upward movement of abundant 
water. Consequently, these plants do not require the 
degree of soil dryness which best ministers to maturing 
processes, nor do they need such deep penetration of air 
as is needed to make subsoils hospitable for deep-rooting 
plants. They are plants, too, which need the maximum 
percentages of moisture within reach to secure the quick 
growth and succulence w'hich makes them delicious and 
profitable. For all these reasons, the view of underdrain- 
age here presented is somewhat at variance with orthodox 
drainage tenets held in humid climates and is also widely 
diverse from views which the writer holds with reference 
to the drainage requirements of fruit trees. 



CHAPTER VII. 
CULTIVATION. 

The timely and thorough performance of the several 
acts which, in accordance with the prevailing local con- 
ditions, constitute good tillage, are indispensable to suc- 
cess in California vegetable growing. No matter how 
favorable the natural conditions or how generous the 
other provisions made by the grower, to be dilatory or 
slack in cultivation is to seriously endanger, if not to 
actually forfeit, the final reward. 

The American pioneers were quick to see that the en- 
ergetic use of the good tools to which they had been 
trained in their old homes would bring marvelous produc- 
tion from lands previously held at grazing value, and, 
beginning with this assurance, they proceeded by lessons 
of observation and experience until they learned proper 
times and ways of working under the novel natural con- 
ditions which surrounded them. They also accomplished 
modifications in tools for tillage, which, from a local point 
of view, are notable improvements, and they devised new 
forms to meet special conditions or purposes. By this 
empirical method they ministered to their own success 
and incidentally demonstrated the truth of some advanced 
theories of tillage which had won but slight recognition 
from the conservative spirit of the older countries. It is 
an interesting fact, also, that prevailing California prac- 
tice, in some important regards, accords more closely with 
principles deduced from elaborate experimentation by the 
most acute and patient students of soil physics, than does 
the common practice of older countries. 

With tillage, as with other gardening duties to which 
reference has been made, there are in California wider 



82 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

extremes to be mastered, and methods are therefore strik- 
ingly diverse. Tillage prepares the seed bed, facilitates 
germination and root-extension, and fosters the benign 
processes of soil warmth and aeration here as elsewhere. 
It also holds the same relation to soil moisture here as 
elsewhere, but its services in this particular are more con- 
spicuous because the need is greater, as intimated in pre- 
vious chapters. 

The common California conception of the value of till- 
age naturally seizes upon this aspect of the case and 
asserts that the chief offices of soil working are first to 
get as much moisture as possible into the soil and, second, 
to keep it there. The efficacy of certain ways and times 
of tillage to assist in the escape of surplus moisture is of 
course known to those who have this work to do, but the 
area in which such acts are called for is comparatively 
small. It is quite important, however, that the vegetable 
grower should have it in mind and it will be mentioned 
later. 

TILLAGE TO RECEIVE MOISTURE. 

This involves both time and method. The importance 
of early work in the garden has been incidentally men- 
tioned and will be further urged hereafter. With the 
rainfall-vegetable grower, early plowing of the land, or 
early digging of the small garden, is the first of a series 
of timely acts which are neglected at great peril. 

Summer Fallow as Preparation for Vegetable Planting. 
— The best way to be early with one season is to begin in 
the previous one, if possible. A bare but frequently 
stirred summer fallow is the best preparation for a gar- 
den. A piece of stubble or new land deeply plowed and 
subsoiled and left unharrowed in the fall or early winter, 
cross-plowed in the spring, and then worked with a cul- 
tivator once a month during the dry season, is brought 
to the opening of the rainfall-garden season in good con- 
dition from at least three points of view : first, it has been 
cleaned of many weeds ; second, it has been improved in 



TILLAGE FOR MOISTURE. 83 

tilth and fertility ; and, third, it has a storage of moisture 
from the previous season 's rainfall. Such a piece of land 
can be deeply plowed at the opening of the rainy season, 
and can be at once planted with vegetables for winter use 
which are hardy in the locality and will carry them along 
well, even if there be very little rain during the late fall 
months, with its content of stored moisture. Because of 
its deeply stirred surface, freedom from hardpan from 
previous cultivation, and moist subsoil, it is in its best 
absorptive condition, and by subsequent shallow working 
as each vegetable is disposed of, rotation or succession 
can proceed on the same ground and with the advancing 
winter and its added rainfall planting of less hardy vege- 
tables can be made until the frost-free period arrives and 
the garden will go out into the spring and summer growth 
of the whole list of hardy and tender plants with ample 
moisture to carry them to perfection during the dry sea- 
son. 

Early Beginning for Work the Sajne Season. — But it is 

not always possible to give the year of rest and cleaning 
and moisture saving, desirable as it is. In that case the 
plowing must be done as soon as the rains sufficiently 
moisten the soil for deep plowing. Sub-soiling may also 
be done with advantage if the rainfall of the region is 
generous; if not, there is too great danger that much of 
the moisture may go out of reach of the shallow-rooting 
plant. It is usually not as safe to plant as early on newly 
plowed land as upon replowed summer fallow, for unless 
the fall rains are above the average the plants may be 
less thrifty than those planted later when full moisture 
is assured. This is, of course, a matter for local deter- 
mination, as it is conditioned upon local rainfall. 

Even if for any reason it is not thought desirable to 
plant vegetables in the open air until February, and this 
is a practice in localities where fall and early winter tem- 
peratures are rather low, still the earlj^ plowing is neces- 



84 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

sary to moisture-saving, and cross-plowing should follow 
in preparation for planting. 

Land designed for spring planting of tender vegetables 
should also receive early and thorough fall plowing and 
a subsequent winter plowing or spring plowing before 
the weed growth becomes too heavy for turning under or 
so coarse that plowing under will make a non-retentive 
soil still more prone to drying out the following summer. 

TILLAGE TO CONSERVE MOISTURE. 

Tillage to receive moisture designs to open the soil and 
to assist percolation with a view to prevent surface flow 
and to absorb the rainfall. Tillage to save moisture aims 
to reduce evaporation to a minimum. In a firm soil moist- 
ure rises by capillary attraction and is rapidly removed 
from the surface by evaporation. A light soil has less 
capillarity than a heavy one. A sandy soil has less than 
clay, but both lose water by surface evaporation until, 
in an arid climate, plants will die of thrist unless they 
be by nature drought-resisting. Garden vegetables are 
not of that character; in fact, quite the reverse. Conse- 
quently, some means must be adopted to prevent the 
moisture which is rising in the soil from reaching contact 
with the outer air. This can be done by placing a cover- 
ing upon the compact portion of the soil so that the air 
shall not have free access to it. Covering with a sufficient 
amount of almost any coarse material, such as coarse 
manure or rotten straw or sawdust or anything of that 
sort, is troublesome and expensive and otherwise objec- 
tionable, although it has an acknowledged place in garden 
practice, as will be shown later. 

The Earth Mulch. — California practice has made the 
widest application of the truth that a finely pulverized 
surface layer of sufficient depth is an effective mulch. 
Pulverizing the soil widens the distance between its par- 
ticles and consequently destroys its capillarity until by 
the action of moisture, either in the form of liquid or 



HOW MOISTURE IS CONSERVED. 85 

vapor, it becomes again compacted to a degree which re- 
stores its power to transmit moisture. The cultivator has 
it, then, within his power to spread a mulch and check 
evaporation simply by fine and frequent pulverization of 
the surface layer by cultivation. It is this ability which 
enables the California horticulturist to transform the 
lower layers of his soil into a reservoir, and to profit by 
the natural tendency of the moisture to rise in the com- 
pact soil until it reaches the point where the pulverized 
layer checks its advance. This jiractice makes possible an 
achievement which seems almost incredible to workers in 
humid climates, viz. : the growing of a succulent crop 
from seeding to harvest without the use of a drop of 
water either by rain or irrigation, and it is this practice, 
coupled with the deeper rooting habit of plants which is 
induced by it, which enables our trees and field crops to 
grow thriftily and produce heavily during months of 
drought, while a few weeks of drought bring distress to 
plants in humid climates. 

But the pulverized surface layer must do more than 
arrest the capillary rise of moisture before it reaches the 
surface : it must check it at a point out of reach of the free 
entrance of air to the loose layer, consequently the de- 
gree of pulverization and the depth of the loose layer are 
factors to be carefully observed. It is not enough to grind 
an inch or two of the surface to powder. The free move- 
ment of air through this shallow layer at least in our sum- 
mer air with its exceptional thrist, will proceed with evap- 
oration from the too thinly covered compact portion and 
the loss of moisture will be only a little less rapid and com- 
plete than if the surface had not been disturbed at all. 
The same thing will happen if the surface layer be only 
coarsely broken to a still greater depth : the passage of 
air through the clods will be free enough to draw off the 
moisture and the soil will dry out to a degree which will 
bring distress to plants which good cultivation would have 
maintained in vigorous growth. It is plain then that 



CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 




IDEAL DEVELOPMENT OF BEET ROOT, SHOWING ADVAN- 
TAGES OF DEEP CULTIVATION FOR ROOT CROPS. 



the earth mulch must be fine enough and deep enough to 
serve its intended purpose and for this no arbitrary rule 
can be laid down except that the coarser the soil by nature 
or the coarser the particles by cultivation, the deeper the 



METHODS OF TILLAGE. 87 

mulch must be. The practical test is easy : if the pulver- 
ized layer becomes dry and if on brushing it aside with 
the foot, the firm surface is hard and more or less dry also, 
the mulch is not effective and its character must be im- 
proved. 

Steps by Which Conservation is Attained. — The foun- 
dation for a satisfactory moisture-conserving tilth is laid 
with the plow during the fall or winter preceding the 
summer during which it is to be maintained. Though 
plowing has been considered as a factor in opening the 
soil to receive and store moisture it is also considered in 
its conservation. To do this the plow must be used when 
the soil is in the best condition not only for turning but 
for disintegrating by the crushing action of the mold 
board so that the soil particles shall lie closely upon the 
firm portion and not form large air spaces which minister 
to drying out. Plowing when the soil is unfit results in 
clods, which are every way hateful in the garden, and in 
air spaces, which are objectionable, as shown. Even when 
the soil is in reasonably good condition, late plowing, if 
left rough and open to dry winds, will form clods in all 
except the loosest soils, consequently all late plowing 
should be at once well harrowed. 

The next step in the assurance of a good earth mulch 
is the early use of the cultivator. It will not do to allow 
the harrowed soil to crust by rains and then trust to some 
later rain to loosen and rescue the young plants from its 
embrace. Just as soon as the soil arrives in condition 
after a rain, stir the surface well and the crust will not be 
formed, and this must be done just as soon as crust-form- 
ing conditions recur. In this way the soil surface is con- 
stantly kept in good absorbing condition and is also car- 
ried on its way to the best conserving condition as well. 
Weed growth, which is moisture wasting, is also pre- 
vented. 

Then comes the summer cultivation to retain such an 
earth-mulch as has been described. If it proceeds upon 



88 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

previous good work in clod and crust preventing the vege- 
table grower is fortunate. If not, he must have recourse 
to whatever implements for clod-crushing, cutting, chop- 
ping and grinding, work best in his soil, for, as there can 
be no best plow for all soils, so also there can be no best 
cultivator. The grower must learn to recognize the con- 
dition which he wishes to attain and then experiment with 
tools until he finds the best for his soil. Summer cultiva- 
tion means cultivation all summer, or at least as long as 
growths are still progressing. To reduce to good tilth in 
the spring and then "lay by" the garden or else to count 
upon later cultivation only in the case of later rains, is 
not adequate cultivation for moisture conservation. The 
earth mulch will have its capillarity restored by its own 
absorption of moisture from below or from the air, and 
it will lose its efficiency as a protecting cover even through 
no rain falls. Therefore frequent stirring to the adequate 
depth but without soil-turning must be maintained at in- 
tervals both to restore the mulch and to destroy weeds 
which may start late and pump moisture away from the 
plants in almost incredible amount. Remember, though 
no crust forms and no weeds start, the cultivator must fre- 
quently restore the surface layer to its condition as an 
efficient mulch if the greatest possible amount of moisture 
is to be conserved. 

CULTIVATION IN SMALL GARDENS. 

Work with spading-fork, hoe and rake in the hand- 
made garden is subject to exactly the same requirements 
as those described for the horse-power garden or vege- 
table field. Early and deep digging for moisture recep- 
tion and storage, as well as to welcome root-penetration, 
must be followed by coarse raking to maintain a surface 
fit for absorption and not favorable to crusting while the 
rainy season advances, and, after the rains have ceased, 
there must be frequent deep hoeing and fine raking to 
maintain the earth-mulch which has already been charac- 
terized. 



HOW TO HOE. 89 

The Man with the Hoe.— The use of the hoe at different 
seasons in the California garden and the contrast between 
summer hoeing as practised in arid and humid climates 
is so strikingly illustrative of the sort of tillage which 
gives in California rank summer growth without rain, 
that a few comments will be indulged in. 

The first and most obvious reflection which comes to 
one who does summer hoeing in an arid land is that the 
handling of the hoe which he practised in his boyhood 
in eastern garden or cornfield is not the hoeing which 
avails most now and here. The light, shallow stroke which 
fell just below the root crown of the weed, stirred the 
immediate surface a little and left the field clean, used to 
be the touch for eastern hoeing, and a man could almost 
do it at walking speed for hours upon hours. Except a 
little extra deep work, which was called for when the oc- 
casional short droughts threatened, this shallow weed- 
cutting was sufficient to give the crop the upper hand in 
the struggle with weeds, and the frequent showers kept 
the surface moist enough to prevent baking. 

It is to be inferred from recent reports that there is less 
shallow hoeing done now than a generation ago at the 
east, and deeper summer cultivation has been found profit- 
able there. However this may be, it is clear that shallow 
hoeing is a delusion and a snare in this country. Practice 
it through the spring and as long as the weeds start, and 
your garden surface will be dusty. Think then content- 
edly about what you have heard of a mulch of dust-retain- 
ing moisture. Can it be possible, instead of shooting up- 
ward, the plant just holds its own and then goes backward, 
wilting, yellowing its leaves, and all but dying in its dis- 
tress ? Surely there must be a worm at the root. The hoe 
is seized and brought down upon the soil at an angle and 
with a force it has not known all summer. How the dust 
flies from the surface, and how the hoe flies from the 
hard-pan just beneath the dust as though it had been 
brought down upon a marble slab. Then there come to 



90 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

mind thought on hoeing which never came before. Then 
it becomes plain that the shallow weed-cutting stroke is 
not the dash of the hoe which saves the plant. 

One who goes through this experience once will know 
better how to hoe next time. He will see that by sharp, 
deep strokes, often using the corners of the blade, he will 
maintain a loose layer upon the surface which will be 
thick enough to prevent direct evaporation from a hard- 
pan layer and thus break the connection between capil- 
lary action and the atmosphere. Such hoeing is harder 
than light work with the blade nearly horizontal. It 
takes muscle to give a strong vertical stroke which pene- 
trates well, and one cannot waltz along the rows whistling 
a lively tune, as is quite possible while weed-cutting in 
moist soil in February. 

There is little grace, we admit, in the attitude of the 
Italian market gardener, as he straddles the row, arches 
his back and grunts as he sends his heavy mattock its 
full depth into the soil around the plants. The American 
with his fine, new, full-width, bronze-shanked, green-la- 
beled steel hoe, marching along the rows, touching the 
soil with disdain as ill worth exertion on his part, is a 
much handsomer picture. But the Italian's plants laugh 
at drought. When irrigated the soil takes w^ater like a 
sponge and it goes plump down to the roots of the plant. 
Irrigate the shallow-hoed plat ; a pailful will run a rod 
and the plant root gets but the gurgle of the water as it 
flows along the surface of the hard pan just beneath the 
dust. 

Evidently, if one begins early in the season with deep 
hoeing, the midsummer tussle with hard-pan will be ob- 
viated. This is really the lesson to be learned. 

CULTIVATION AND IRRIGATION. 

All that has been said about the relations of tillage to 
reception and conservation of moisture from rainfall is of 
equal truth as related to moisture derived from irriga- 
tion. Soils not readily absorptive must be opened by 



THE AMERICAN AND THE ITALIAN. 91 

proper tillage to receive the waterflow. Such is the ser- 
vice rendered by the furrow system in addition to its fur- 
nishing channels for the flow. Soils naturally open will 
take water as well, and sometimes better, by other meth- 
ods, as has already been explained. But by whatever 
means water is brought to the soil the conservation of 
the water depends largely upon the prevention of surface 
evaporation which not only releases moisture but turns 
the upper soil into a pavement which is fatal to shallow- 
rooting plants. Therefore let the plow follow^ the irri- 
gation, if it is fall or winter irrigation for the preparation 
of a seed bed, and let the cultivator do its work finely 
and to sufficient depth if it is summer irrigation for ad- 
vanced plant growth. Do not let the irrigated land lie 
until it yields clods to the cultivator. Seize it soon, as 
good tilth waits on stirring; "and when 'tis done then 
'twere well it were done quickly." 

RIDGES, HILLS, RAISED BEDS AND LEVEL 
CULTURE. 

Though the considerations suggested by these words are 
involved in irrigation and drainage, they are commonly 
regarded as phases of cultivation. It is almost obvious 
that all methods of lifting the plant bed above the com- 
mon surface are equivalent to providing it with the fullest 
facilities for surface drainage. Whenever, then, ridging 
or hilling or raising whole garden beds is prastised with- 
out connection with irrigation upon the elevated surface, 
it affords exceptional means for the escape of surplus 
water and relief to the plant from saturated soil. By this 
act the winter growth of vegetables, hardly enough to 
withstand the local climate, can be carried on in the most 
retentive soil under a very heavy rainfall. 

Ridging. — It matters not whether this ridging is done 
very quickly with the plow by back furrowing or whether 
a raised bed is made in the small garden with a retaining 
border, the principle is the same and it is a very useful 
one. It affords a ready answer to the requirement which 



92 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

exists in many parts of California for facilitating winter 
growth by drainage without at the same time endanger- 
ing too great loss of water for summer cropping. The 
back furrow gives the plants a greater depth of stirred 
soil, which is especially valuable in the rainy season. Af- 
ter the early crop of hardy vegetables is disposed of there 
will still be time to plow down the ridges and put the 
soil in receptive shape for the later winter or spring 
rains, cultivating being done later to retain moisture until 
the frost-free period arrives, when the same land will take 
its summer crop of tender vegetables with or without 
irrigation as the character of the soil, the proposed growth 
and the local rainfall shall require. 

Raised Beds. — A more elaborate application of the same 
principles consists in the raised beds, which are very use- 
ful for winter growth in the small garden and, in combina- 
tion with irrigation by seepage, as already described in 
the chapter on that subject, afford a means for applying 
water or escaping from it as the conditions at any time 
shall dictate. 

Another form is the permanent, bordered, raised bed 
of the kitchen garden, which is very serviceable either 
in farm or village growth of home supplies by hand work, 
both in cultivation and sprinkling. This is the method 
by which Mr. Ira W. Adams, one of our most resourceful 
vegetable growers, applies the principle on a small scale : 

"I make my beds four feet wide and any length desired. 
As my land is little on the adobe order, put on three or 
four inches of fine creek sand and a very heavy dressing 
of thoroughly decomposed mixture of cow, horse, pig, and 
hen manure. My beds are twenty feet long and I confine 
the soil in them by laying a round spruce pole on each 
side, said pole being about six inches in diameter at one 
end and five at the other ; a little larger or smaller will an- 
swer. By driving a small stake at each end of these poles 
and one in the middle, and fastening them to the pole by 
a single nail in each stake, a great saving of space is 



HILLS AND FLAT CULTURE. 93 

made on the edges of the beds, as without some protec- 
tion the heavy rains wash the edges of the beds very 
badl}^ 

"A few days before sowing the seed, in September, I 
water the bed very thoroughly until the soil is thoroughly 
saturated to the depth of eight or ten inches. Leave it 
until it is in just the right condition to work. Then in- 
corporate the sand and manure into the bed in the best 
posisble manner by vigorous use of a six-tined hoe fork 
with round steel teeth about one-fourth of an inch in diam- 
eter and eight inches long. This thorough work, with the 
addition of the sand and manure, leaves my beds about 
eight inches above the general level of the land, and be- 
tween each bed I leave a walk fourteen inches wide. 

"Some may say it is a great deal of trouble to prepare 
such beds. Granted; but when the beds are once care- 
fully made they are fit for immediate use at all seasons 
of the year, and for many years to come, not only for 
onions, but for early lettuce, radishes, turnips, table beets, 
dwarf peas, etc., that require a light, rich, and well- 
drained soil. An application of a little liquid hen ma- 
nure occasionally is very beneficial, and is all the fertil- 
izing the beds will need for many years. ' ' 

This shows small-scale, intensive work. With such 
beds it is possible to have vegetables in edible condition, 
before it would be wise to sow seeds of the same kinds 
in open ground in the same locality. 

Hilling. — Hilling of plants to afford soil-room for 
growth started from shallow planting is another means 
of attaining drainage and soil warmth during the winter 
season. It is the ridge principle applied in spots and with 
vastly greater labor. If one has a fancy for it he can in- 
dulge in it in a hand-made winter garden, but otherwise 
there is nothing to be said for it. 

Flat Culture. — All references to systems which lift the 
plant-bed above the common surface should be accompan- 
ied by the clear declaration, that except as associated with 



94 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the distribution of irrigation water, they are a dehision 
and a snare if carried into summer work. The very re- 
lease of water which fits them for winter use unfits them 
for the dry summer. Level culture is the broad basis 
upon which summer conservation of moisture rests. The 
plant root should neither be lifted into the air nor should 
the soil be opened so that the air is allowed to freely de- 
scend to the plant roots. Soil and air assume proper 
relations when the culture is flat and fine and sufficiently 
deep. 

Tillage to Release Excessive Moisture. — The occasion 
for this course, except in stated winter practice already 
described, rarely occurs in California except on lowlands 
in regions of ample rainfall, though sometimes a large 
precipitation in a short time may too long delay planting 
until the surplus is disposed of. Plowing with rather a 
long slope of moldboard, which turns furrows without 
crushing and laps them w^ell, leaves air spaces at the bot- 
tom of the furrow-slice and aids greatly in drying the 
soil. Sub-soiling also allows water to percolate and air 
to enter freely. These are, however, heroic treatments and 
if employed late in the rainy season are apt to give the 
lower layers of the soil opportunity to dry beyond desir- 
able moisture retention. If only a slight surface drying 
is necessary a narrow-toothed harrow or cutting discs with 
slight lateral pressure will accomplish it. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
FERTILIZATION. 

In the chapter on soils there has been given a glance at 
the leading characteristics of California soils, including 
their endowment of available plant food. This natural 
fertility is the explanation of the fact that in this State 
up to this time the question of fertilization has been of 
minor importance. The securing and husbanding of ade- 
quate moisture constitute the key by which native fertility 
is unlocked and so long as this resource permits the gath- 
ering of large crops of superior vegetable products with- 
out expenditure for fertilizers it is obvious that we shall 
have the art of fertilizing under our climatic conditions 
still to learn. "We are already undertaking large expendi- 
ture for fertilizers for fruit trees, especially those of the 
citrus family, and the world-wide problem of economical 
plant-feeding will reach all our producers, sooner or 
later, as each has the hungrier plants or the thinner soils. 
The old conception of the pioneers that California cli- 
mate and soil had some sort of beneficent inter-action 
which insured perpetual fertility was merely a phase of 
the perpetual motion vagary, as applied to agriculture. 
It was a sort of reaction from the older view that Cali- 
fornia soil would produce nothing but winter pasture. 
Of course, all these early notions have passed away. It is 
only a question of time when soil-building will be a regu- 
lar California effort, but on some lands, and for some 
crops, it may be a very long time before the problem will 
be pressing. 

And yet it would not be truthful to convey the impres- 
sion that fertilization is not undertaken at the present 
time. There has been great progress during recent years 



96 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

in the utilization of natural manurial supplies which were 
formerly allowed to go to waste. The demand from or- 
chardists has induced systematic search and traffic, and 
old accumulations from the stock farming of our first 
thirty or forty years are being put to good use, together 
with a considerable amount of artificial fertilizers. There 
is also a constant demand for the wastes of our towns and 
cities for gardening purposes. Our market gardeners 
have zeal for collecting the cleanings of city stables and 
our amateur gardeners, both in villages and on farms, 
make, as a rule, good use of the animal wastes which are 
available. They understand the advantage of intensive 
work and of bringing small areas up to maximum produc- 
tion, and they know that to raise large garden crops one 
must apply manure without stint, but our field production 
of staple vegetables is not intensive as yet, except as in- 
tensity is included in natural fertility. This being the 
case, the writer does not undertake prophecy. In a few 
years the progressive work which is now under way, es- 
pecially in southern California, in trial of artificial man- 
ures for vegetable growing, will furnish object lessons 
for general guidance. Present purposes will be best 
served by offering suggestions as to the ways to turn natu- 
ral supplies to best account. 

Comparative Value of Animal Manures. — The excre- 
ments of different animals serve somewhat different pur- 
poses in garden practice because they act more or less 
quickly and are more or less stimulating to the plant. 
There is also w^arrant in carrying with the word stimu- 
lating the inference that in feeding plants, as in treating 
animals, that which is most stimulating must be used 
with the greatest caution. Both caution and economy 
prescribe that the manure which has the highest content 
of plant food should be used in less amount and more care- 
fully distributed through the area of soil which the roots 
of the plant are expected to traverse. 

The excrements of animals depend in composition upon 





Nitrogen, 


Animals. 


Per cent. 


Cows . . 


. . 0.50 


Horses . 


.. 0.47 


Sheep .. 


.. 1.00 


Swine . 


.. 0.83 


Hens . . 


.. 1.10 



Acid, 


Value per 


er cent. 


Ton. 


0.45 


2.38 


0.39 


2.79 


0.08 


4.19 


0.04 


3.18 


0.47 


4.22 



COMPOSITION OF MANURES. 97 

the abundance and richness of the food furnished them. 
The following table is compiled from experiments and 
analyses made at Cornell University, and there is no doubt 
that the stock was well fed. 

COMPOSITION AND VALUE OF FRESH MANURE 
FROM DIFFERENT ANIMALS. 

Phosphoric 
Potash. 
Per cent. 

0.29 

0.94 

1.21 

0.61 

0.29 

The value is figured at the price agreed upon by east- 
ern chemists as fair value for the ingredients as used in 
artificial fertilizers. 

Value per ton is also conditioned upon the percentage 
of water in the manure. Hen manure has much less water 
even in a fresh state than that of cattle, and air-dried hen 
manure, free from earth, etc., is sometimes worth as much 
as $10 per ton, providing the hens are well fed. In this 
State air-dried sheep manure in large corral deposits in 
Fresno has been found by analyses at the University of 
California to have this composition and value : 

Per cent. 

Nitrogen 2.32 

Potash 2.90 

Phosphoric Acid 2.88 

The material had only twenty-eight per cent of water 
and its value calculated at the agreed price of its ingre- 
dients is $10.95 per ton. Even when calculated at the 
same per cent of water, the California corral deposit has 
much higher value than the eastern sheep manure. 

Garden Use of Concentrated Manures. — Hen, sheep, and 
hog manure are very much richer, as shown, than the 



98 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

same bulk of cow or horse manure. The safest way to 
use them is by composting with other materials, as will 
be described presently, but if it is desirable to use them 
alone, care should be taken in the distribution, as already 
stated. This can be assured by thoroughly mixing these 
manures with at least equal bulks of fine earth, when they 
will soon be reduced into a fairly dry and powdery state 
in which they may be readily spread broadcast on the 
land, or be sown by the drill, and be found a useful gen- 
eral manure for every kind of garden produce. 

Deterioration of Manures. — There are two ways by 
which animal manures lose valuable constituents : first, the 
escape of nitrogen by fermentation which sets free this 
element chiefly in the form of ammonia : second, the leach- 
ing out of soluble matters by exposure of the mass to 
copious rains. Both of these losses are practically pre- 
vented by drying of the manure. The local demonstra- 
tion of this general truth is seen in the analysis just given 
of sheep manure which has passed through many years of 
exposure to the weather in an arid interior valley of Cali- 
fornia and still retains so much fertilizing value. Another 
means by which fermentation is reduced and controlled 
is by compacting the mass so that free access of air and 
free passage of water are prevented. This compacting 
is currently accomplished by the tread of the sheep con- 
fined by night in large numbers in small inclosure. The 
prevention of leaching in this case is also due to the fact 
that the local rainfall never reaches in any short period 
volume enough to accomplish percolation through a thick 
layer of manure to the soil. We have then in the case 
of a dry interior valley of California all the conditions 
for the preservation of manure which the progressive 
farmers of humid climates secure by means of covered 
cattle yards, covered pits, manure sheds and other devices. 

And yet manure will go to destruction in California as 
fast as elsewhere unless the conditions mentioned are se- 
cured. Loose piles of manure, except in the most arid 



GARDEN COMPOST. 99 

localities, have, or subsequently receive, moisture enough 
to start active fermentation and will "fire-fang" and be- 
come nearly worthless in a very short time during our 
hot summer. Such loose piles thrown to the weather in 
the rainy season will be largely leached of their soluble 
matters wherever rainfall is considerable. Probably the 
easiest way to preserve manure in California is to allow 
it to lie in the corral during the summer, for there it is 
free from leaching rain, usually from June to November, 
and all its coarse straw, etc., dry and brittle, is reduced 
almost to powder by the tramp of the animals. If then 
this fine material is scraped up, spread and plowed in at 
the beginning of the rainy season it will readily ferment 
in the soil and all its value be retained, if the applica- 
tion is made to a heavy soil under a good rainfall. The 
winter-made manure should not be allowed to lie in the 
corral to be leached by drenching rain. It should be gath- 
ered frequently and applied fresh to the land so that the 
leachings may be plowed in while there is still moisture 
enough in the soil to make the process safe and efficacious. 
This easiest way to handle animal manures in California 
may do for ordinary farm crops, if the soil is heavy enough 
and moist enough to receive unfermented manure without 
danger to the crop from loss of moisture, but it is not the 
best way to handle manure, either for field or for gardens. 
Manure for garden use should be most carefully treated to 
save all its richness and to render its coarse materials 
more readily available in soil-forming processes. In short, 
instead of preventing fermentation, manure for garden 
purposes should be put through a carefully controlled fer- 
mentation which is involved in composting. 

Compost for Garden Purposes. — The term compost sig- 
nifies a mixture of manurial substances and for garden 
use there should be collection constantly made of the void- 
ing of the animals, trimmings of vegetables, the refuse of 
plants as the ground is cleared, the house wastes, and, in 
fact, everything of an organic nature which will yield to 



100 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

decay, and any available mineral wastes, like ashes, which 
contains plant food. If all these are added to the animal 
manure and treatment adopted which will promote the 
proper fermentation in it, the manure will assist in re- 
ducing the other materials to proper condition for garden 
use. 

The conditions for such fermentation are adequate mois- 
ture accompanied with stirring and aeration enough to 
distribute the action evenly throughout the mass and to 
bring all the materials under its influence. There are nu- 
merous ways of accomplishing this, and each operator will 
probably have his own notions about their relative ease 
and cheapness. 

Manure Tanks. — These are cemented, water-tight, exca- 
vations of various sizes. A Napa county farmer built one 
a few years ago which cost him nearly two hundred dol- 
lars, with all its appurtenances. It was thirteen by twenty 
and one-half feet in size, about six feet deep and exceed- 
ingly well built. The floor has a slant, inclining to a 
well at one end, where, with the aid of a wooden pump, 
the juices as they settle are raised to the top and poured 
over the mass to again percolate through it. It is quite 
a question whether it is worth while making such invest- 
ment. Loss of liquid manure by leaching is prevented, but 
on the other hand it is apt to accumulate in such quanti- 
ties in the pit that, unless the pit is roofed, the addition 
of the rainfall will result in the submergence of all the 
manure and this excludes the air and prevents the proper 
fermentation. The result is that there is great cost in 
excavating the water-logged material from the tank, a 
large amount of heavy and disagreeable shoveling and the 
manure not in the best condition after all. 

Manure Pits. — Manure pits if excavated with one slop- 
ing side so carts can be readily backed in for filling, are 
cheaper than tanks and if they have a clay sub-soil for a 
floor or can be puddled with clay on the concave bottom 
they will hold most of the liquid, unless water flushing of 



MANURE PITS AND TANKS. 101 

the stable is indulged in. A large grower of beets and 
other roots for stock-feeding in San Mateo county has 
for a number of years used this arrangement with satisfac- 
tion: 

"I have a manure pit large enough to hold all the ma- 
nure made in a year. A hole about three feet deep is dug 
out of the side of a hill. A sloping platform, up which all 
the manure is wheeled, raises it about four feet above 
the ground on the upper side, which gives a drop for the 
manure of about seven feet. When filled up to a level 
with the end of the platform, loose planks are laid as re- 
quired on top of the manure. Thus by continually wheel- 
ing each day 's manure over the older manure, its solidity 
is insured, and all the manure made on the farm has to 
go up the said platform. After the cow barn is cleaned out, 
the lightest of the manure from the horse stable, bull 
stalls, etc., or any other absorbent, is put behind the cows, 
taking up fluids, and thus insuring a regular quality 
throughout the heap. Another important item added to 
the general heap is the hen manure and ashes, the latter 
being kept in a large tin, which, when full, is emptied 
into the fowl-house, and all goes in the manure heap to- 
gether. ' ' 

This use of absorbents prevents accumulation of exces- 
sive liquid and there is consequently little loss by leach- 
ing. The compacting of the mass prevents too free access 
of the air and fit conditions for slowly breaking down the 
coarse manure are assured. 

Composting in Piles. — The method usually followed by 
market gardeners seems on the whole the most convenient 
and best for this climate, where the winter rainfall is, 
as a rule, not so heavy as to occasion much leaching, if 
the pile is of several feet in depth. It involves some shov- 
eling, but it facilitates rapid curing of the manure and 
brings it into excellent condition for garden use. Stack 
the fresh manure in a pile several feet high. Then give it 
a thorough wetting from a hose and allow it to decompose 



102 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

for a few weeks. Then chop it down, mix thoroughly and 
stack it again ; then wet it well once more, and after a 
few weeks it will be ready to put upon the field. This 
process of composting destroys all weed and other seeds, 
prevents the manure from burning, as well as the escape 
mixed when stacking it. Compost thus made is suitable 
for the finest garden, at a moderate expense, and the work 
necessary will pay a larger profit than any other farm 
labor. Watching the moisture and using the hose, when 
the rainfall is not adequate, and thorough stirring and 
aeration of the mass, are the essentials of the process. 

The manner in which Mr. Ira W. Adams handles ma- 
nures involves correct practice : 

"Clean up all the manure on hand just before the fall 
rains, putting the same on the land, and either cultivate 
it in or plow it under. What manure accumulates during 
the winter, pile in a snug heap some five or six feet in 
depth, and throw it over some three or four times during 
the winter to keep it from burning, as well as to thor- 
oughly mix it and thereby hasten decomposition. Put 
horse, cow, hog, chicken, and every other kind of manure 
that can be had, all together. 

"Never burn anything that will rot, but haul to the 
pile, cornstalks, roots, and all squash, melon, tomato, and 
potato vines, etc., as well as weeds of every description, 
in fact, anything and everything that will decay and make 
vegetable matter. Use fresh horse manure mostly to has- 
ten the decomposition of said vines, weeds, etc., alternat- 
ing as the heap is made. By so doing there will not 
be a weed seed left with vitality enough to germinate. 

"It is well to have manure piles under a roof to avoid 
leaching during the longest and most excessive rains, but 
so situated that the rain falling on the barn can be easily 
conducted to the piles, giving them just the amount of 
water necessary and no more. After the rains are over, 
some water will have to be applied from time to time ; and 
covering with very fine, dry earth will keep the pile from 



LIQUID MANURE. 103 

drying out during the long, hot summer, as well as cause it 
to retain most of the ammonia, etc., that would otherwise 
have evaporated and escaped. Late in the fall it will be 
found entirely rotten, cutting like old cheese." 

Liquid Manure. — Liquid extract of animal manures is 
of great efficacy in vegetable growing if carefully used. 
It is made by filling a barrel with manure, pouring water 
on above and drawing it out below as it leaches through 
the mass. Another way is to have a barrel with water in 
a handy place and throw" into it enough manure to make 
an extract of the right strength. No matter how it is 
done care must be taken not to have the extract too strong. 
This can generally be told by the color, which should not 
be darker than tea of medium strength. The quality to 
apply in the hot-bed or the open ground must be learned 
by experience. Enough to produce generous and still vig- 
orous growth is the rule. With plants to bear fruit like 
tomatoes much less stimulant can be used than with plants 
for foliage, for the stimulant always acts awaj' from fruit- 
ing and toward leaf and stem extension. 

Absorbents. — As has already been intimated, the free 
use of absorbents is very desirable both for valuable li- 
quids, likely to leach away, and for gases which are prone 
to fly off. Probably the best absorbent for both purposes 
is ground gypsum, which is now very cheaply furnished 
from local sources in several parts of the State. It adds 
value of its own in addition to its absorbent properties. 
A very abundant material in an arid country is road dust. 
It, too, will take up both liquids and gases. In village 
gardens with paved streets and well-watered soil, sifted 
coal ashes act well in the hen-house and on the manure 
pile, and the cinders which are sifted out are a good foun- 
dation for permanent garden walks. The free use of the 
fine coal ashes for years kept the writer's fowls without 
a case of swell-head, rid the hen-house of all odor, and fur- 
nished many wagon loads of home-made fertilizer which 
is perfectly safe to use freely as the hen manure is dif- 



104 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

fused through quite a bulk of material. The effect of 
large use of these sifted coal ashes on an adobe garden 
has well-nigh taken the hatefulness out of it and made it 
into a loam delightful to put tools into. 

Manure as a Mulch. — Market gardeners operating with 
heavy soils use immense quantities of barn-yard manure 
both composted with garden wastes and as fresh manure. 
The latter is largely used as a mulch or top dressing during 
the rainy season to prevent heavy rain from compacting 
the soil around the young plants and to get the richness 
of the manure by leaching. They use it in summer also 
to prevent surface evaporation and to prevent compacting 
the surface when the water is hand-thrown with scoop or 
pan from the ditches between the raised beds. This is 
to help small plants with their rooting ; afterwards they 
take water by percolation from the ditch. The free sur- 
face use of fresh coarse manure, to be afterwards forked 
in, is safe on heavy clay, which the gardener is endeavor- 
ing to lighten up, but if coarse manure is used as a mulch 
on light sandy soil, it should be raked up and taken to 
the compost heap, as only thoroughly decomposed manure 
should be worked into such soil. 

Wood Ashes. — Coal ashes have no estimable manurial 
value ; their effect is mechanical just as is the effect of 
adding sand to clay, but wood ashes as well as plant ashes 
of all kinds, is intrinsically an excellent fertilizer, since 
it contains the soil ingredients required by all plants, even 
though in different proportions. The value of ash varies 
materially in accordance with the degree of heat to which 
it has been subjected when made. In general, the hotter 
the fire, the less active will be the ash as a fertilizer. 

The chemical composition of ashes varies considerably, 
according to the plants, or parts of plants, from which it 
has been derived; the smaller the wood, or the more of 
weeds or other herbaceous material there was in it, the 
more valuable the ash; but taking a broad average, a 
bushel (say forty-eight pounds) of wood ashes would, ac- 



ASHES AND BONES. 105 

cording to the ordinary valuation of the ingredients, be 
worth about twenty-five cents — counting on an average of 
five per cent of potash and two per cent of phosphoric acid. 
In general, ashes should be spread broadcast over the sur- 
face of the ground and allowed to be washed in by rains 
or irrigation, and not placed too near the plant. If plowed 
in shallow with stubble or weeds, the latter decompose 
very quickly, and the effect of both is thus improved 
and quickened. 

It may be said in general terms, that the ashes of wood 
and of land plants of every kind are of value for manure 
on every kind of soil which has been reduced by crop- 
ping; but the greatest benefit is shown upon sandy and 
porous soils. On these "light soils" crops of every kind, 
but especially root crops and corn, will be benefited by a 
dressing of wood ashes. Thirty to fifty bushels to the acre 
of fresh ashes will be a full dressing, and three or four 
times that amount of leached ashes may be applied with 
permanent benefit. 

Bone Manures. — Bones as they commonly occur in na- 
ture contain plant food worth about $30 per ton. The best 
treatment for bones is to crush them if it can be handily 
done, and then put them through the fermentation of the 
compost heap, with fresh manure and wood ashes. It 
takes from three to six months to reduce them. The bones 
which do not break down under this treatment can best 
be buried deeply in the orchard to await slow disintegra- 
tion bv the tree roots. 



CHAPTER Villa. 

GARDEN PROTECTION. 

There are three main lines of protection to which the 
vegetable grower may find himself compelled to give at- 
tention, and he may sometimes be so beset by ills that he 
will cry in despair that all forces of earth, air and sky 
are arrayed against his enterprise. Fortunately, however, 
there is nothing in the situation, usually, to appall one 
who is energetic and prompt and eager for success, and an 
effort will be made to suggest expedients and methods 
which will assist in repelling various destroying agencies. 
The three classes of intruders to which attention will be 
called are these : unfavorable atmospheric conditions ; in- 
jurious insects and fungi ; injurious animals. 

PROTECTION AGAINST WINDS AND FROST. 

Protection against harsh winds has already been in- 
cidentally mentioned from time to time. There are very 
few places where a good windbreak will not be of decided 
advantage, and if. the garden ground cannot be selected 
so as to enjoy the protection of trees and buildings already 
in place, special planting or construction should be under- 
taken. A good shelter belt of trees, preferably of ever- 
green foliage so placed as to break the cold winds from 
the direction prevailing in the locality, will be found of 
immense advantage. Where such protection is not prac- 
ticable, a high fence, even if not closely boarded, will af- 
ford some protection to a much greater width of ground 
than one might think at first. 

Protection against frost, effective against a drop of 
several degrees below the freezing point, is also possible 
bv the use of a smoke smudge. Most effective fires are 



CLASSES OF INSECTS. 107 

those which yield volumes of steam as well as smoke, so 
that masses of wet straw or rubbish, placed over dry stuff 
enough to maintain combustion, are the best material. 
Running or standing water close to the plants will also 
prevent frost effect, providing the temperature does not 
sink very far below the freezing point, nor remain there 
too long. Under such conditions, covers of paper, bur- 
laps, etc., also serve a good temporary purpose. More ef- 
fective protection is described in the chapter on propaga- 
tion. 

INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 

It should be borne in mind that the attacks of these 
evils are in many cases conditioned upon weakness and un- 
thrift to the plant, and the danger from both insects and 
blights is reduced by keeping the plants in most active and 
vigorous growth. Lack of cultivation, lack of plant food 
in the soil, and lock of moisture, are invitations to these 
invaders. The natural resistance of the plant is broken 
down, and it becomes a prey to its enemies. But the best 
growing conditions do not render plants immune against 
all pests. Some are so aggressive that the grower has to 
fight to save his crop, and to fight hard sometimes. 

Fortunately, warfare against insects has been greatly 
simplified during recent years by the use of remedies of 
comparatively recent application. There are two chief 
divisions of insects: first, hifiiir/ insects, which are recog- 
nized by the gardener by the fact that they make holes 
in the foliage ; second, sud-ing insects, which make no holes 
but pierce and extract the sap in such a way that the leaf 
wilts, loses color and perhaps dies without losing any ap- 
preciable part of its surface. Each of these classes has 
its own remedy. 

Remedies for Biting Insects. — Insects which consume the 
leaf surface are destroyed by poison, and this can be 
used in such minute quantities as not to destroy the fo- 
liage nor render it dangerous for food purposes unless 
the plant is nearly in condition for eating, and then, of 



108 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

course, poison on the foliage is very dangerous if the fo- 
liage is the edible part. If the edible part is the root or 
tuber, poison on the foliage is not dangerous. The most 
widely used poison is Paris green, either used as a powder 
mixed with twenty times its bulk of flour, and dusted on 
the plant, or applied as a spray or sprinkle, using one 
ounce of Paris green to ten or twelve gallons of water. 
For spraying to kill these pests, lead arsenate has recently 
been largely substituted for Paris green. It is less de- 
structive to foliage and can therefore be used in greater 
strength. This will kill all forms of insects, large and 
small, which make holes in leaves. It onl}^ becomes in- 
effective when insects occur in such vast multitudes that 
the plant is all consumed before all the insects are supplied 
with the poison. Fortunately, this does not often occur 
in garden practice. 

For larvae which come from the ground and destroy the 
plant by cutting the stem, the Paris green, either dust or 
sprinkle, may be placed on tender leaves or sprigs of al- 
falfa which are placed on the ground beside the plant to 
be protected. The most injurious insects of this kind are 
called "cutworms." It is also often satisfactory to use 
the poison in this way: Take thirty pounds bran, two 
pints molasses, one pound Paris green ; put the molasses 
into six quarts of hot water, add the bran and Paris 
green, mixing thoroughly until the water is tinged with 
green. Place a spoonful of this near the plants and wher- 
ever the worms are, not getting it too near the stalk. If 
a new lot of worms hatch, the dose will have to be re- 
peated. 

The same preparation is also very effective for grasshop- 
pers in vineyards, but there is little chance of coping with 
grasshoppers or army worms in the garden by poisoning. 
Unless they can be checked by walls of tire or streams of 
running water around the garden, the gardener has little 
to do but to replant as soon as they have passed on their 
way. 



INSECTICIDES. 109 

When biting insects attack plants which it is not 
thought safe to poison, the use of a powder of air-slaked 
lime or of dry wood ashes is often effective in discouraging 
their attacks. Another repellant which sometimes works 
like a charm is kerosene powder, made by stirring a table- 
spoonful of the oil to a quart of pulverized gypsum, or air- 
slaked lime, or even fine road dust. Scatter it on and 
around the plant. 

Plants may also be often rendered unattractive to in- 
sects by free sprinkling with tar water. Take a barrel 
with a few gallons of gas tar in it, pour water on the tar, 
and have it always ready when needed. When the insects 
appear give them a liberal dose of the tar water from a 
garden sprinkler or otherwise ; when the rain washes it 
off the leaves, or the pests return repeat the dose. 

There are other biting and boring insects which destroy 
plants by their injuries to the roots. Wireworms are a 
conspicuous group of these destroyers. All underground 
pests are naturally difficult of treatment and often in field 
practice they cannot be economically destroyed or discour- 
aged. In garden practice, however, the use of soot or ni- 
trate of soda, in very small quantities, or of tobacco dust, 
the extract of which is carried down by water to the dis- 
comfiture of the pest, is often effective and profitable. 

Another group of biting pests though not strictly in- 
sects, are slugs and snails. They can be poisoned by the 
use of poisoned leaves laid on the ground, or they can be 
trapped either with leaves or pieces of board or little piles 
of wheat bran. Early in the morning the slugs will be 
found in large numbers under the leaves or boards, or 
collected in the bran, and can easily be gathered up for 
breakfast in the poultry yard. Mother hens in portable 
coops with the young chicks or ducks running among the 
plants, are a very good solution of the slug question on a 
small scale. Myriads of slugs in the garden are often due 
to excessive irrigation. If the surface is finely worked up 



110 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

and allowed to dry it is very discouraging to slugs and is 
otherwise promotive of plant growth. 

Remedies for Sucking Insects. — These are pests both 
large and small which bring distress to plants without 
visibly consuming their substance, as has already been de- 
scribed. They are not affected by poison on the surface. 
They must be killed by applications which destroy by con- 
tact with the exterior of the insects. The universally 
approved remedy for this large class of pests is kerosene 
emulsion. If properly made and diluted, it is harmless 
to the plant and deadly to the insect. The formula which 
is most easily prepared and most available for garden 
work, is that devised by Prof. A. J. Cook of Claremont, 
Los Angeles county, as follows : 

Common laundry soap. . . % pound 

Kerosene 3 pints 

Water 4I/2 gallons 

Cut up and dissolve the soap in six quarts of boiling 
water in a five-gallon oil can. Remove from the fire and 
add the kerosene, stirring vigorously for ten minutes. 
This should make an emulsion from which the oil will 
not separate when cool. It can be diluted with water 
enough to fill the five-gallon can, and is then ready for 
application with a garden syringe or spray-pump, and 
it will kill all insects which are covered with a film of 
it. A fine rose sprinkler can be used, but it is wasteful 
and the application does not penetrate as well as from 
a spray nozzle. 

The kerosene emulsion will of course kill the insects 
for which poison has been prescribed and is available 
whenever the use of poison is thought to be undesirable. 

"Whenever insects do not yield to the treatments pro- 
posed, or whenever the use of these remedies does not 
seem to be practicable, it is well for the grower to apply 
to the Agricultural Department, University of California, 
Berkeley, sending a specimen of the insect and of its 
work, if possible. An answer embodying the latest in- 



MILDEWS, MOLDS AND BLIGHTS. Ill 

formation on the subject will be made without cost to 
the applicant. Useful descriptive publications can also 
be sent in many cases, and as information is thus avail- 
able, it is not necessary to attempt detailed discussion 
in this connection. 

INJURIOUS FUNGI. 

Molds, mildews, and blights seem to be ever on the 
alert to attack garden plants whenever suitable condi- 
tions prevail. Fortunately, California is much less sub- 
ject to these intrusions than countries with humid summer 
heat, and some very destructive garden fungi either do 
not occur here or occasion very little trouble. Still it is 
well for the gardener to know that the arrest of fungous 
invasion is a very much simpler proposition than it was 
a few years ago. This fact is due to the recent demon- 
stration of the efficacy of solutions of copper salts. The 
most effective preparation is known as the Bordeaux 
mixture, which is prepared as follows : 

Dissolve one-half pound copper sulphate (bluestone) in 
two and one-half gallons of water in a wooden pail, slake 
one-half pound fresh lime in one-half gallon of hot water, 
stirring and rubbing till completely slaked; when the 
lime is cool put the bluestone solution into a five-gallon 
oil can, and add the lime by allowing it to run through 
a coarse cloth strained to remove lumps or dirt. Stir in 
water enough to fill the can and it is ready for use. The 
mixture should not stand in a metal vessel. 

This makes a light-blue whitewash which will be effec- 
tive as it slowly diffuses its components over the leaf sur- 
face. In our dry summer it remains operative for a long 
time. It does, however, make the plant unhandsome, 
and where a fungicide is desired which does not discolor 
the leaves, the following may be substituted for the Bor- 
deaux mixture : 

Dissolve three-fourths ounce of copper sulphate (blue- 
stone) in one quart of warm water, and one ounce of sal 
soda (washing soda) in another quart of warm water. 



112 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

When both are cool, mix them together and add five 
ounces of washing ammonia. When the mixture is clear, 
after standing long enough to accomplish that, add cold 
water to make five gallons. 

Some fungi are quite readily checked by the use of 
dry sulphur, but when this is not effective, the copper 
compounds will be found satisfactory. 

In many cases the attacks of fungi may be avoided by 
keeping the plants growing thriftily, or by choosing vari- 
eties which are not affected by the diseases to which other 
varieties succumb. Wherever this course is open to the 
gardener, it will be found more satisfactory than the ap- 
plication of remedies. 

DESTRUCTIVE ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 

Against the larger marauders from the forest, the field, 
or the barnyard, the farm garden must be protected by 
an adequate fence close enough to exclude fowls and jack- 
rabbits. For the latter purpose, closely set strands of 
barbed wire are the cheapest material. The bottom wire 
must be set low enough to prevent entrance by scratch- 
ing under. Even when a neater fence is made of wire 
netting, strands of barbed wire above and below are 
often very useful. 

Squirrels. — Ground squirrels should be destroyed in the 
adjoining fields as well as in the garden, or its protection 
is almost a hopeless undertaking. When the ground is 
wet, squirrels are very satisfactoirly destroyed with car- 
bon bisulphide, and this material, with appliances and 
instructions for its use, can be had in nearly all the coun- 
try stores. 

In dry soil the carbon bisulphide is not so effective, 
and some of the many good squirrel poisons must be 
used. The following has been shown to be very satisfac- 
tory : 

Strychnine, one ounce ; cyanide of potassium, one and 
one-half ounces ; eggs, one dozen ; honey, one pint ; vine- 
gar, one and one-half pints; wheat or barley, thirty 



SQUIRRELS AND GOPHERS. 113 

pounds. Dissolve the strychnine in the vinegar, pulver- 
izing is in the vinegar, or it will gather in a lump. See 
that it is all dissolved. Dissolve the cyanide of potassium 
in a little water. Beat the eggs. Mix all the ingredients 
together thoroughly before adding to the barley. Let it 
stand twenty-four hours, mixing often. Spread to dry 
before using, as it will mold if put away wet. In wheat 
districts use wheat, and in barley districts use barley, 
as they eat it better. Look out for the poultry and stock. 

Gophers. — Some gardeners are very successful in gopher 
trapping. It is an act which has to be learned by expe- 
rience and patient observation. The following sugges- 
tions are made by an expert and they may be helpful to 
beginners : 

Gophers come to the surface in the night and generally 
close their holes in the morning soon after daybreak. 
They frequently emerge again about noon, and a third 
time late in the afternoon. It is best to set the trap in 
an open hole, as the gopher will be sure to return to fill 
it. Still the holes may be opened if the dirt is still fresh, 
with a good prospect of the gopher's return. Therefore, 
the trapper may make his rounds three times a day, as 
above indicated. 

In the second place, care should be exercised in pre- 
paring the hole for the insertion of the trap. The trapper 
should assure himself that he has found a straight hole 
for a distance of at least ten inches, with no lateral 
branches, otherwise the gopher in pushing out the dirt 
will likely enough thrust the trap to one side, cover it 
up or spring it without being exposed to its grasp. 

In the third place, the trapper should be supplied with 
at least two varieties of traps — one for the larger gophers 
and the other for the smaller ones. The common iron 
gopher trap, which springs downward, is excellent for 
the former, and the small wire trap, which springs up- 
ward, is generally successful with the latter. It is taken 
for granted that the size of the hole is indicative of the 



114 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

size of the gopher. Either trap should be inserted nearly 
its full length into the hole, pressed down firmly, and a 
little dirt piled at the outer end to prevent its being easily 
pushed out. After the trap is set it is well to cover the 
opening with some grass or weeds. Sometimes the holes 
require a little enlarging, but care should be taken to 
make the fit as close as possible, that the body of the 
gopher may be kept near the center, and thus more ex- 
posed to the prongs of the trap. 

In the fourth place, the trapper should be supplied 
with a small spade and a litle gouge-shaped implement 
for trimming the hole. 

Finally, the trapper should be supplied with traps as 
numerous as the extent of the pest demands. He should 
not be discouraged by lack of success at first. Persever- 
ance is as essential in this work as in any other, and will 
generally win. We have in mind the successful capture 
of a big gopher after trapping for him a week, changing 
the trap two or three times a day ; he had then destroyed 
about fifty hills of corn. How much damage he and his 
descendants might have done had not his career of devas- 
tation been interrupted, can only be estimated by such 
multiples as attach to the propagation of that particular 
species. 

Poisoning is an easier method of destroying gophers, 
and it is very satisfactory if faithfully done. The poison 
is strychnine in crystal form, which can be pulverized in 
the small bottle in which it is bought by using the head 
of a nail. Take out a very small amount on the tip of 
a knife-blade and insert it into raisins, or pieces of carrot, 
potato, alfalfa stems, or almost any succulent vegetable 
substance which is handy at the time. Find where the 
gopher has been at work last, and remove the loose earth 
from the surface, to find where it has come from; then 
dig down to find the main runway, generally from six 
to twelve inches. The runway being found, clean out 
any dirt that may have dropped into it, and place the 



THE GARDEN MOLE. 115 

poison a little distance from the opening. Then seal up 
the hole with a lump of earth or sod, being careful that 
none drops in on the poison, and put the dirt back as 
it was before. The gopher will soon return to his labor, 
and will seldom fail to pick up the bait. 

It is often useless to put poison in holes left open by 
gophers when at work, as they shove the poison out with 
the dirt, and it becomes lost. If a hole is opened and 
poison placed therein, it should be closed up again, as 
the gopher, seeing the light and feeling the air where 
it was not intended, goes to work to remedy that evil 
by shoving a load of dirt against the opening, thereby 
covering up or throwing out the bait. 

Sometimes the same poisoned grain used for squirrels 
can be successfully used for gophers by placing it in the 
runways as first described. 

The Mole. — The mole is an insect-eater and as such is 
beneficial, but he destroys so many plants while mining 
for grubs and worms, that the gardener can well dispense 
with his services. The best way to do this is to watch 
for the rising soil and, striking in just behind the mole 
with a spade or shovel, throw him out and finish him. 
When he is working in the lawn or the ground is too 
hard for this treatment, strike into the moving earth with 
a hatchet. It generally arrives and we have killed more 
moles in this way than in any other. 



CHAPTER Vin6. 
WEEDS IN CALIFORNIA. 

For fear that a book on gardening without a chapter 
on weeds might prove too great a shock to horticultural 
propriety, this concession is made to conventionality. The 
fact is that the California gardener gives himself less con- 
cern about weeds than the distant reader can perhaps 
realize. There are several reasons for this : 

First : It is possible to get quite clean ground for 
winter gardening by weed-killing cultivation before plant- 
ing. This is one advantage of our long planting season. 

Second : Winter gardening is free from many weeds 
which only grow in high temperatures. 

Third: Owing to the long spring season, it is possible 
to clean with plow and cultivators the land which is to 
be planted after frosts are over. 

Fourth : Summer growth of weeds is largely prevented 
by the dry surface layer of the soil, and those who do 
start are destroyed by the persistent summer cultivation 
which is essential to the preservation of moisture for the 
crop. 

Fifth : Many of the worst weeds of humid climates can 
not survive our dry summer in uncultivated soil and are 
thus prevented from becoming serious pests here because 
of their own natural limitations. 

And yet we do have weeds, magnificent weeds, weeds 
which reflect the growth-giving resources of our soil and 
climate quite as strikingly as do our useful plants. Mus- 
tard, turnip, and radish extend laterals for the birds of 
the air to rest upon. Smartweed grows in some places 
too high for a man to look over ; in other places morning- 
glary, licorice, Bermuda and Johnson grasses have a grip 



ASPARAGUS PACKING. 



117 



upon the soil which it is almost impossible to loosen. Jim- 
sou, dogfennel, and others, numerous beyond mention^ are 




found in varying amounts everywhere ; but for the rea- 
son stated above they do not give the gardener such 
grievance against fate as their names might suggest. 



118 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

On the other hand, Canada thistle and burdock are almost 
unknown, while plaintain, pusley, and quack grass have 
in some places assumed quite an air of respectability as 
forage plants. 

Naturally, weeds are worst in soils which are moist in 
summer, such as the rich lowlands, and on such lands 
the California vegetable grower has to fight for his crop. 
Some winter-grown plants, like onions, are secured at the 
cost of much weeding in some situations. Still it is true, 
as remarked above, that weeds do not, taking the State 
as a whole, call for such an amount of expensive effort 
as they occasion in humid climates, and if the garden is 
arranged, as it should be, for the free use of horse-power, 
the burden of hand pulling and hoeing is reduced to a 
minimum, and the exertion of a prolonged hand-to-hand 
contest with weeds is seldom heard of in California. 

For these reasons, perhaps, California has no special 
contributions to make to the general knowledge of weed 
killing. So far, however, as her experience goes, it is 
most strenuously in favor of destroying weeds as rob- 
bers of moisture which must be saved for useful plants. 
The California garden must be clean and the surface must 
be frequently stirred, whether weeds appear or not. It 
may be fortunate, then, that we are not altogether free 
from weeds, for their invitation to slaughter accomplishes 
far more for the garden than their own destruction. 

Recently weed killing by spraying with solutions of 
sulphate of iron has been widely demonstrated to be suc- 
cessful. Lawn intruders like dandelions and other broad- 
leaved weeds can be killed by spraying with water in 
which iron sulphate has been dissolved at the rate of two 
pounds to the gallon, without permanent injury to the 
grass, but most vegetables would also be destroyed by 
this treatment. Garden walks can be kept clean of all 
growth by sprinkling with this mixture : Dissolve one 
pound of caustic soda in one gallon of water and in this 
solution dissolve one and one-half pounds of white ar- 



WEED KILLING. 119 

senic. Add to this twenty gallons of water and it is 
ready for use. But this has to be used circumspectly. If 
the poison is carried to the roots of other plants or trees 
by rain flow or irrigation, it will kill them also. 

Really the best treatment of weeds is to destroy them 
as soon as they appear by pulling, hoeing, or cultivating, 
or by digging or plowing them into the soil when they 
make taller growth, thus adding humus to the soil as a 
product of their decay, as is discussed in the chapter on 
garden fertilization. 



CHAPTER Vlllr. 
SEED GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 

The commercial production of garden seeds in Cali- 
fornia was entered upon by the first American vegetable 
growers as a branch of their business. The difficulty of 
obtaining supplies from the East and the almost fabulous 
prices which seeds commanded, acted as a strong incentive 
to local production. The inventory of i\Ir. John M. 
Horner's productions at Alvarado in 1851 included eleven 
hundred pounds of garden seeds — onions, beets and cab- 
bage. Mr. A. P. Smith, at Sacramento, had twenty acres 
devoted to seed growing in 1857, and the following record 
shows that he had been doing a good business for some 
time before that date : 

"To his vegetable seed department ^Ir. Smith turned 
his attention at an early day, and has pursued it till now 
he devotes to it twenty acres of ground and the time of 
several laborers, and from it reaps a merited reward. His 
crop of seeds for the last four years has reached from 
three to four thousand pounds per annum, which up to 
1858 averaged about three dollars per pound. They now 
sell for less." — Rep. Cal. Agr. Society, 1858, p. 233. 

Another pioneer seed grower was Mr. D. L. Perkins of 
Alameda. The record states that he "served a thorough 
apprenticeship in the business at the East and is (juite at 
home in all genera^ operations connected with his busi- 
ness." At the State fair in 1860, premiums for garden 
seeds were awarded to A. P. Smith of Sacramento and to 
D. L. Perkins of Alameda. The committee reported both 
exhibits very meritorius and indulged in the prophecy 
that "the time is at hand when our gardeners will be saved 



SEED GROWING. 121 

the time, trouble and expense of looking abroad for their 
seeds." 

It would seem that Mr. Perkins must be credited with a 
broader conception of the opportunities of California in 
seed growing than was known to the awarding committee. 
With them the problem was local supply. Mr. Perkins 
looked beyond that. In his statement submitted with a 
claim for a gold medal at the State fair of 1867, he uses 
these significant words : 

"For the past ten years all my time has been given to 
the raising of seeds * * * striving to get the best seeds 
from all parts of the world. During the past three years 
I have sent collections of seeds to be tested at the East, 
and the results in size and quality over the same varieties 
grown at the East have been so marked that several par- 
ties have ordered from me, thus showing that California 
can compete with the world for garden seeds. There is 
no State in the Union so well adapted to the raising of 
seeds as California. During five years past I have sent 
samples of my product to Japan, China, Sandwich Islands, 
Mexico, and to Europe. ' ' — Condensed from Rep. Cal. Agr. 
Society, 1866-7, pp. 228 and 229. 

Probably this statement of Mr. Perkins was the first 
formal prophecy of the eminence which California would 
ere long command in the seed markets of the world. It 
found an echo in the words of Peter Henderson, the vet- 
eran seedsman and florist, who wrote in 1882 : ' ' California 
will, I am certain, fifty years from now, grow seeds for 
the world. It has all the conditions of soil and climate 
for seed growing." The progress attained during the 
last few years justifies Mr. Perkins' enthusiastic declara- 
tion and indicates that Mr. Henderson's time limit was 
certainly conservative and safe, for in certain lines surely 
such a position has already been realized and in less than 
a third of his period. 

A New Start. — Mr. Perkins did not continue to the 
demonstration of his problem. His attention was diverted 



122 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

to other matters, and it remained for others to actually 
work the mine of which he was only the prospector. 
Theirs have been the labors and the burdens, and it is 
gratifying to add that, through carrying them intelli- 
gently and devotedly, they have attained reward and have, 
in part at least, realized for the State the prominence 
which was prophesied by the pioneers. 

In 1875 Mr. R. W. Wilson, previously a seed grower at 
Rochester, New York, began seed growing near Santa 
Clara, and is regarded as the pioneer of the present era of 
California seed growing. He began on about fifty acres 
of land, growing principally onion, lettuce, carrot, and 
beet seed. Two years later he was succeeded by Kellogg 
& Morse, who continued together, increasing the dimen- 
tions of their business until 1889, when Mr. Kellogg re- 
tired and C. C. Morse & Co. became the successors to the 
business. They have extended and developed their enter- 
prise to dimensions which few Californians realize, and 
now are not only leaders in seed growing, but in the seed 
trade also. Aside from this large firm there are other 
producers who have achieved most creditable results, both 
in the general product and in the development of spe- 
cialties which have given them wide reputation and con- 
tributed to the fame of the State in advanced horticul- 
ture. 

What is usually meant by seed growing, as popularly 
understood in California, is the production of lettuce, 
onion, carrot, celery, etc. ; also sweet peas and other flower 
seeds. While quite a large acreage is devoted to seed 
beans and garden peas, the things peculiarly Californian 
are the small vegetable and flower seeds, and the three 
pre-eminent specialties are onions, lettuce and sweet peas. 
We lead the world in the production of these three items, 
and California annually sets the price for all the American 
trade in them, and also largely influences the European 
seed trade. California is also a large producer of other 
vegetable seeds, and to give one some idea of about what 



SEED GROWING. 123 

area is devoted to seed growing, an estimate the total 
acreage in the State of the usual California grown list of 
seeds, is about 6500 acres, approximately divided as fol- 
lows : Carrots, about 250 acres ; celery, about 100 acres ; 
cucumbers, about 150 acres ; endive, about 50 acres ; 
parsley, about 50 acres; parsnips, about 25 acres; radish, 
about 500 acres ; onions, about 8000 acres ; lettuce, about 
750 acres; salsify, about 50 acres; tomatoes, about 100 
acres; spinach, about 100 acres. In flower seeds, sweet 
peas, about 1250 acres ; nasturtiums, about 25 acres, and 
considerable breadths of asters, balsam, poppy, phlox, 
sunflowers, mignonette, verbena, etc. The smaller seeds of 
flowers are not grown extensively, and are still largely 
imported. 

The coast valleys of California afford conditions favor- 
ing seed growing in a high degree. The only seed farms 
of any considerable production are located in Los An- 
geles, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, and Santa Clara coun- 
ties, the latter claiming fully 75 per cent " of the total 
acreage. 

It will be impossible to adequately describe California 
seed growing in a single chapter. Only a few salient facts 
can be mentioned. 

Onion Seed, — This seed has held the leading place in 
California seed growing from the very beginning — at first 
for local use, afterward for distant sale. In spite of the 
Eastern plaudits which Mr. Perkins won for his seed, as 
already stated, it was a difficult undertaking to induce 
Eastern dealers to use it largely at first. When Mr. Wil- 
son offered his first crop of onion seed in the East, scarcely 
any one would touch it, and some who did claimed after- 
ward that the bulbs grown from it were soft, would not 
keep and were inferior. The next year Mr. Wilson sent 
quite a quantity of the seed to a dozen or more of the 
leading dealers, who planted it beside Eastern seed. In 
the fall Mr. Wilson went East and personally inspected 
the crops, compared the bulbs and was able to show that 



124 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

in every instance California seed produced as good onions 
as they had been using before. From that time on Cali- 
fornia onion seed has constantly grown in favor, and this 
State has become almost the only source of supplies, 
though there are some Eastern States in which a consid- 
erable amount is still grown. This popularity secured a 
price which was quite profitable, and many grew onion 
seed — too many, in fact, for there is occasionally disas- 
trous overproduction. 

Lettuce. — Lettuce seed is a leading crop with California 
seed growers. Tlije climate of some parts of the coast val- 
leys is admirably adapted to it. It requires careful, pains- 
taking work to maintain choice varieties. Unfortunately, 
the plant seeds most freely in a semi-wild condition, and 
some of the less critical growers have allowed it to grow 
in this way, thereby increasing yield and profit. The care- 
ful grower proceeds with cultivation fitted to retain the 
characters of the variety, thins out the plants so that each 
will form a perfect head and be true to the type, and then 
the heading or cabbage varieties must have the head cut 
open with a knife to allow the seed stem to come through ; 
otherwise the plant will rot without running to seed. This 
method of growing is not conducive to a large seed pro- 
duct, but it improves the strain, while the work of the 
careless grower tends to reversion. 

Other Plants. — Carrot, celery, leek, endive, kale, kohl- 
rabi, parsnip, and parsley are all grown by California 
seed growers, though their demand is limited, oAviug to 
keen competition with European growers, who are usu- 
ally able to contract these crops at less than the cost of 
production here. Peas, beans (except Limas), corn, and 
some other seeds are not profitable because of competition 
with growers in the middle Western States. Egg plant, in 
spite of the excellence of the vegetable as noted in a later 
chapter, has disappointed the seed growers, and okra has 
done likewise. Turnips and Brussels sprouts have not 
prospered as seed crops, while cabbage does excellently. 








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126 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Cauliflower also seeds well some years, but in others it 
completely fails, which renders its average below the profit 
line. Lima beans for seed have failed, except in the 
southern coast district described in the chapter on beans, 
but in that district growers have enjoyed some very 
profitable contracts with Eastern dealers. 

Flower Seeds. — Various flowers have been grown for 
seed, in fact, a great assortment of varieties, and, while 
nearly all kinds flourish, there is so much hand work and 
close application necessary, that we have not been able to 
successfully compete with Europe on most things. Sweet 
peas, nasturtiums, cosmos, verbenas, petunias, balsams, 
poppies, sunflowers, phlox, mignonette and asters are quite 
successfully grown, and the seed trade looks to California 
for most of the sweet peas and a great many of the nas- 
turtiums. Southern California has several very prominent 
growers of fine double petunias and other plants. 

The rapid advance of the California sweet pea seed in 
popularity is most marvelous. A beginning was made in 
this line in a moderate way about 1885, when there were 
not over a dozen varieties listed. At first about a quarter 
of an acre was grown ; now the total acreage is about 
1250 acres, as stated. So important a factor have the 
California sweet pea growers become to the seed trade 
that some dealers come from the East annually to inspect 
the growing crops and to hunt for novelties in the sweet 
pea line. One will know California sweet pea wherever 
grown by its wonderful vigor. 

Sweet peas are planted in November and December to 
secure the flow^ers at their very best about the middle of 
May. They grow slowly throughout the winter, but just 
as soon as the days lengthen and the weather grows warm, 
they fairly spring into bloom, while later sown seed will 
mature blossoms correspondingly late. 

The careful grower devotes a great deal of time to 
roguing his crops. In spite of the greatest care in selec- 



SEED GROWING. 127 

tion there will always be a few off plants, and these must 
come out to keep the stock pure. 

One Use of Machinery. — Improved cleaning machinery 
has proved an important factor in the production of a 
bright, fresh-looking sample of seed, and has improved the 
vitality test by allowing a thorough separation of every- 
thing spurious from the good seed. Hand mills are em- 
ployed to some extent for small lots, but the main cleaning 
is done with large Clipper Mills, operated by gasoline en- 
gines, and sometimes the electric motor is used. This 
gives a steadier power and a much larger capacity. It 
was not until a few years ago that onion seed could be 
successfully threshed and separated by one of the same 
mills. After years of experimenting and great expense, 
one was built that could successfully do this, and now 
onion seed is threshed and cleaned by large mills run with 
steam engines. It is, however, still necessary to sink the 
seed in water to get it perfectly clean. 

Hand Labor. — Nothing has been invented for threshing 
lettuce, cabbage, parsnip, parsley, etc., which is any im- 
provement on the hand flail, and gangs of men are em- 
ployed in threshing these crops. The diversity of the 
crops and the innumerable variety would make it natu- 
rally unprofitable to attempt to employ machinery in the 
field for these kinds of seed. 

The seed grower must depend upon a great deal of hand 
work. Everything must be harvested by hand ; every 
onion head must be cut by hand ; every stalk of lettuce 
and carrot must be dried, turned, threshed, cleaned and 
recleaned. Carrot seed must not only be flailed to thresh 
it, but it must also be run through a rubbing machine to 
break the beards off and then cleaned in-doors. 

All the planting and cultivating must be done very 
carefully, and much of it is hand work. Every onion bulb 
must be set right side up in the row, then carefully cov- 
ered, or left for a time in the open drill aP'^r setting if 
there should be danger of soil saturation from heavy rains 



128 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

which sometimes fall at the planting time in December. 
Celery plants are twice transplanted before being finally 
set out in the field. Carrots and all roots mnst be selected 
and taken out to be transplanted, all which are defective 
in shape and color being thrown out. 

The careful seed grower always makes careful selections 
of everything he has growing, which he plants seperately 
for his own stock seed. There will always be some roots 
or plants that are rather better in being nearer the true 
type and color than the others, and it is from among these 
that the careful grower makes his selections. 

Climatic Advantages. — In addition to the advantages of 
the California climate in growing the plants, there are 
other advantages in handling the crop. The long, dry 
summers afford a fine opportunity to thoroughly dry the 
seed and permit a large part of the harvest work to be 
done in the field. It is not necessary to build great barns 
and drying sheds as they do in the East, although the 
large California growers provide themselves with large 
cleaning houses and storage warehouses into which to take 
the seed as soon as it is sacked and ready for shipment. 

The Future. — It has taken all these years to learn how 
to grow seeds and to have trained a number of men who 
also know how, and what to do, so that in the future even • 
greater and more interesting developments may be ex- 
pected in all branches of seed growing. One hardly knows 
what the possibilities are, but the past has clearly shown 
that our soil and climate will be great aids to future ac- 
complishment, and in our wide range of natural conditions 
it is reasonable to expect that many things not now under- 
taken, may find a favorable environment, and reward the 
intelligent and painstaking grower. 



CHAPTER IX. 
GARDEN LOCATION AND ARRANGEMENT. 

Several things should be considered in locating the 
farm garden, for much depends upon selecting : first, the 
best soil for the purpose the farm affords ; second, situa- 
tion with relation to protection, warmth and drainage ; 
third, nearness to water supply for irrigation ; fourth, 
nearness to the home and protection from intrusion. It 
may not be possible to combine all these points in a single 
situation, and then it may be advisable to make two loca- 
tions, or, in making one, to sacrifice convenience to the 
more imperative conditions of exposure, soil and moisture. 

Choice of Soil. — General considerations in connection 
with soils may be found in other chapters. Of course, for 
ease of work as well as for other considerations a rich loam 
should be chosen — the best that the ranch affords. As to 
grades of loam, the lighter should be chosen for the win- 
ter garden because of the better natural drainage and 
warmth and the short time in Avhich such soils will take 
tools and seeds well after heavy rains. The heavier and 
more retentive soil will better suit the summer garden. 
Sometimes these two soils may be found beside each other 
in the same acre ; sometimes the soil can be readily im- 
proved in these lines, as may be seen in the chapter on 
soils, or small pieces at a distance from each other may be 
chosen if each has distinctive fitness. 

Situation and Exposure. — Situation should be consid- 
ered, for warmth and protection as well as drainage, as is 
explained in other chapters. Though garden ground in 
general is most conveniently worked if it has just enough 
grade for the slow distribution of water, for winter and 
early spring growth an elevation out of the frosts of the 



130 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

low grounds and into the superior heat of the southerly 
slopes will be found of advantafje. In addition to the 
ridcye above, sueh protection from north and northwest 
winds as a windbreak of trees or farm buildings or a high 
fence will be valuable. There is great difference in the 
safety and speed of winter vegetables on benches and hill- 
sides, as compared with the lower lands at their feet only 
a few rods away perhaps. Warm protected slopes are best 
for winter and the worst for summer vegetables. Shallow 
soil spread on porous rock is non-retentive and warm for 
winter growth, but it may be impossible, even with irriga- 
tion, to carry good succulent growth on it during the blis- 
tering summer heat. Then the deep loams of the creek 
borders and other level lands delight the gardener with 
the largest returns for the least water. 

Nearness to Water Supply. — The summer garden should 
be near the water supply, if it be developed from home 
sources, or the water should be piped to it, which is almost 
equivalent to moving the reservoir to the garden site. Car- 
riage of water in a flume entails losses by leakage and 
evaporation and earth-ditches are distressingly wasteful 
by evaporation and percolation. One often sees water 
started on its way from the homesite tanks toward a dis- 
tant garden, making mud-holes and losing volume all the 
way. In many cases another well-outfit for the sole use of 
the garden would be a good investment. 

Nearness to the Home. — If fairly good conditions exist 
near the home site, by all means locate the garden there. 
It will win the interest and profits by the attention of the 
family, and will yield its supplies directly to their hands 
in most cases. Besides, with the tools handy, spare hours 
now and then will be given to its working when the leisure 
is too short to warrant or incline one to walk to a distant 
patch. The time thus saved may almost keep the garden 
going in good shape. Then, a well-kept garden is an or- 
nament and the ornamentation of our rural homes is often 
rather scant. 

Protection from Intrusion. — To be any comfort and 



ARRANGEMENT FOR HORSE WORK. 131 

gratifieation whatever the farm garden must be protected 
from intruders. One of the chief objections to locating 
vegetable patches here and there in the best situations for 
special purposes lies in the trouble of excluding wild 
marauders of all sizes from a jack-rabbit to a deer and the 
whole range of domestic invaders from the pasture or 
corral. This fact alone compels many to forego vegetable 
planting except in the well-fenced house-yard. It is not 
difficult to inclose a few square rods with wire netting or 
with the woven stock fence of wire and driven posts — the 
whole to be rolled up and stored or moved to another in- 
closure as the progress of the season gives it new uses. 

A home-grown fence is quite possible in California, us- 
ing for pickets the southern cane or the Asiatic bamboos, 
both of which grow readily on moist land in this State. 
Posts may be set a rod apart. With an inexpensive machine 
the canes may be woven into a web, using six No. 14 wires 
for the chain. If the canes are cut three and one-half feet 
long, and the fence posts are four feet above the ground, 
along the top of them a barbed wire may be stretched, so 
that when completed one has a chicken or rabbit fence as 
well as a strong stock fence. This fence is very durable, 
the cane becoming as hard as bone and never rotting ; rab- 
bits can not gnaw it, and it will not ignite from burning 
grass near it as common pine fencing or lath will ; stock 
can see it and hence will not run against it. It can be 
made of any height desired, the canes growing as high as 
12 to 15 feet. It may be taken down, rolled up and moved 
without injury and at slight expense. 

ARRANGEMENT FOR HORSE WORK. 

Although our foreign-born friends who do most of the 
market garden work in California retain their native pre- 
dilection for hand labor and plan their gardens accord- 
ingly, it is advisable that farm vegetable growers should 
arrange to use as much hoi'se power as possible. Both for 
this purpose and to facilitate furrow irrigation or seepage 
ditch irrigating, if the slope suits it, the garden should be 



132 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

somewhat brick-shaped, because of the greater work which 
can be done with the same or fewer turnings of the horse 
or team than on a square piece. At both ends there should 
be a roadway left for turning the team. This shape is 
equally adapted for flat or ridge cultivation. 

In the horse-power farm garden there should, of course, 
be no permanent walks. If walks are desired, leave spaces 
lengthwise unplanted and uncultivated and smooth down 
the surface with a roller. Such arrangements, however, 
waste land and waste moisture, for the hard ground draws 
water laterally. It is better economy therefore to evenly 
cultivate the whole area. Lay out the plantings in straight 
rows for ease of cultivation, and either plant full rows of 
each vegetable or continue the row with another kind 
which requires the same distance between rows. Proper 
distances for each vegetable will be considered in subse- 
quent chapters. It is convenient to make the distances 
multiples of some unit. For instance two feet between the 
rows is about the minimum distance for horse cultivation. 
Some growers therefore plant at two, four, six, eight, etc., 
feet distances ; others start with three feet and proceed 
with six, nine, twelve, etc.,- — the latter for the largest run- 
ning vines. This makes rows of the small, upright grow- 
ers a yard apart, which is rather too great a distance 
ordinarily. 

It is often a great convenience to have permanent dis- 
tance stakes set close to the fences on the ends of the plot 
and placing them the accepted unit apart. It is easy to 
regulate distances by slipping the planting line over two 
opposite stakes which give the desired separation. If one 
has a good horse and a good eye, he will, however, prob- 
ably prefer to use a "marker" made with thills and plow 
handles properly fastened to a cross-bar eight or ten feet 
long and fitted with wooden teeth such distance apart as 
he adopts as his unit of distance between the rows. Start- 
ing then with a straight guide-line on the surface on one 
side, three or four parallel lines can be clearly marked at 
one driving over. Following these marks with the garden 



VEGETABLE GROWING IN YOUNG ORCHARD. 133 

drill, or with the hoe planting, very straight lines of seed- 
ing can be done in a fraction of the time needed to work 
with a line. But whether line or marker be used, it is de- 
sirable to rotate the plants year by year so that the narrow 
and wide row plantings shall change places on the plot, 
else one might be so supernaturally accurate that the rows 
would come everlastingly on the same lines, which would 
not be desirable even if the soil were somewhat displaced 
laterally by cultivation. 

It is great convenience in arranging for due succession 
in the garden (which will be farther considered in the 
chapter on planting) to give adjacent rows to vegetables 
which mature at about the same time. By this arrange- 
ment, say, half or a quarter of the garden lengthwise can 
be cleaned up at the same time and the whole section be 
at once replanted or plowed up for later planting or irri- 
gating as may be desirable. Of course if early plantings 
for winter use are made in the same plot with plantings 
which will go into the summer, each should be in its own 
quarter of the garden. 

In arranging the summer garden in the interior heat, it 
is sometimes desirable to place low, tender-leaved plants 
like lettuce between rows of tall vegetables which afford it 
partial shade. Tall corn or pole beans may thus take the 
place of artificial screens which might otherwise be nec- 
essary. 

VEGETABLE GROWING IN YOUNG ORCHARD AND 
VINEYARD. 

This subject is usually discussed from the point of view 
of injury to the trees and rightly so because the trees rep- 
resent the greater investments and the greater expectations, 
but the lowly vegetables have a point of view also and 
by their appearance they clearly declare that whether they 
hurt the trees or not they would like a better place on their 
own account. It is a fact that inter-culture of vegetables 
in an orchard is soon abandoned because the vegetables do 
not pay for the trouble and by the sight of them one is 



134 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

not surprised that tliey do not pay. It would probably be 
much better for trees, vegetables and owner if half an 
acre, if for home use, and larger area, if for market, should 
be kept free of trees and handled on a more intensive plan 
for the production of fine vegetables. When fruit prices 
were higher and orchard improvements the only avenue 
to high acre-valuation, it is not surprising that people 
tried to plant fruit trees everj^where on small tract pur- 
chases — even to making clothes-line posts of them, but 
now as other resources are receiving better proportional 
esteem, a small, first-class garden spot, worked up to the 
limits of its possibilities, should receive attention not only 
for constant money-saving and mone^^-making, but as one 
of the most valuable improvements on the place. 

There is no particular disadvantage or difficulty in grow- 
ing vegetables in young orchards or vineyards providing 
conditions are right for it. Fruits and vegetables have 
been associated in gardens, probably, ever since Adam 
failed through giving too much attention to fruit. But the 
association of fruits and vegetables has been successful 
upon the garden policy of enrichment, irrigation, and the 
highest known culture. This is quite different from the 
proposition as it has arisen in California which is to grow 
vegetables upon the orchard policy of cultivation for con- 
servation of moisture and trust to the natural fertility of 
the land. It is not surprising that the soil often rebels at 
the double burden as beyond its strength and dictates its 
terms to the grower— by so much as you gain of one by so 
much you shall lose of the other. 

It may be seen, however, in the chapters on soils and 
irrigation that California has natural soils and situations 
which are quite comparable with the best conditions which 
intensive culture can produce in the gardens of older lands 
and, this being true, it is possible to draw upon their rich 
resources in the same way. It is quite possible then to 
grow good vegetables between young fruit trees and for 
a certain period it can be done without irreparable injury 
to the trees, providing the local conditions warrant the 



VEGETABLE GROWING IN YOUNG ORCHARD. 135 

practice. These conditions may be thus summarized : 

If the soil be of only average richness, the rainfall mod- 
erate to meagre in amount, and no facilities for irrigation, 
it would be unfortunate to place any other burden on the 
land than the growth of the trees. 

If the soil be not very rich and the rainfall heavy, but 
the moisture easily lost by percolation or evaporation, 
owing to non-retentiveness of the soil, and no irrigation 
facilities, give the trees all the ground and the most per- 
fect summer cultivation possible. 

If the land be rich, the rainfall abundant and moistui'e 
held well in the soil, or if irrigation can be made use of, 
it is fair to think of an inter-crop during the early j^ears 
of the orchard, providing the crop can be profitably dis- 
posed of, its nature is such that no heavy draft is made 
on fertility, and the financial condition of the planter re- 
quires immediate return from the land, if possible. 

It thus appears that an inter-crop is finally made to 
hinge upon the grower's necessities, and the inference 
would be that if the money is not needed immediately, it 
would be wiser to hold the whole strength of the soil as an 
investment on which returns are to be finally had in the 
increased growth and fuller fruiting of the trees in later 
years. 

This views the matter from a commercial point of view 
and therefore in its most aggravated form. If it is merely 
a question of whether the home supply of vegetables shall 
be taken from the young orchard or vineyard, it is less 
serious and can be more freely commended. 

In growing vegetables between the rows of trees or 
vines, much depends of course upon the time and the way 
it is done. If water can be applied between the rows late 
in the summer in such a way that it will not prevent the 
deciduous trees from going forward to their usual dor- 
mancy, or if the grower waits until the fail rains wet the 
ground sufficiently and then puts in his vegetables for late 
fall and winter growth without carrying them too near 
the trees, he can make his winter garden, enjoy its pro- 



136 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

duce, and plow in the debris so early in the spring that 
no appreciable injury will be done to the trees, unless he 
is on that line of light rainfall where every possible effort 
is demanded to receive and conserve all the water that 
falls. If that be the case he has to cultivate to conserve 
moisture both winter and summer and should not think 
even of winter vegetables in the orchard. 

Perhaps the chief objection to winter vegetable grow- 
ing is due to the fact that the crop is usually planted too 
late and is allowed to occupy the ground so late in the 
spring that the soil can not be brought into fine tilth which 
is necessary to save moisture. Instead of this the impacted 
ground on which the vegetables stood is turned up in clods 
which no amount of crushing will reduce to tilth and the 
orchard loses by defective cultivation more moisture than 
the vegetables consumed in their growth. 

The summer growth of vegetables in the orchard is a 
more dangerous operation and whether it should be under- 
taken or not depends upon local conditions previously 
outlined. Perhaps a specific instance may enforce the 
point and show what may be taken as favored soil and 
moisture conditions. In the lower lands of the Santa 
Clara valley, near San Jose, there have been constant con- 
tributions to fertility by overflows from mountain water 
bringing leaf mold and other materials found in the de- 
posits of "slum," which renew and keep up the fertility 
of the soil. Much of this land has been under cultivation 
50 years and upwards, and yet is known as garden soil. 
Much of this land is adobe, naturally remarkably produc- 
tive, aside from its benefits from overflow. Such soils have 
proved able to produce, without apparent exhaustion, or- 
chard trees and the crops that are grown among them. 
There is an abundance of artesian water for use when 
needed. It has been a common custom in this artesian 
belt, so noted for strawberries, to grow onions on the 
ridges between the strawberry rows, and along the sides 
of other berry bushes. Onions are thus grown during sev- 
eral successive vears until the ground is too crowded. 



VEGETABLE GROWING IN YOUNG ORCHARD. 137 

Beets, carrots, peas, and other vegetables are sometimes 
grown among the berries. Crops of onion seed have been 
grown among the trees of yonng orchards withont irriga- 
tion and the trees have done qnite as well as when they 
had the ground all to themselves. Free use of the culti- 
vator has kept the ground loose and moist, after one or 
two plownngs. By irrigating in the fall, the ground can 
be plowed so as to start the onions before the rains, though 
this is not usually done. Onions planted any time between 
October and February may be considered best, though 
much depends on the season. It should be understood 
that, aside from the favoring soil and artesian wells, this 
locality is in line with the summer breezes that come in 
from the ocean through the Golden Gate, 40 miles away, 
adding moisture to temper the otherwise heated atmos- 
phere of the valley. Of course we have only used the 
onion as an example of a hardy, winter growing vegetable 
and what we have said of it applies to all other upright 
winter growers which do not make much lateral extension 
in their growth. 

Such land will carry all growths that can find standing 
room on it. Similar conditions are found on low, moist 
valley lands in nearly all parts of the State, both in the 
Coast and the interior valleys. The land has such wealth 
of plant food and moisture that summer weed-killing, 
which is not common in California, is quite a problem. 
Where weeds will grow in spite of ordinary good summer 
cultivation, the land Avill stand almost covering with use- 
ful plants and it costs little more to grow them than to 
keep down the wonderful weeds. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE PLANTING SEASON. 

The chapter on California climates as related to vege- 
table growing will show that there is really no closed 
season in the State except in the mountain districts. It is 
always time to plant something, if the moisture is avail- 
able, for there is no degree of cold realized which en- 
dangers the hardier vegetables. It is true that in Decem- 
ber and January in the regions of heavy rainfall, there is 
apt to be a cold, wet surface soil which does not give a 
hospitable welcome either to seed or seedlings but even 
this can be overcome by using lighter soil at a little higher 
elevation or by the devices for raising plants in the seed- 
bed unless one wishes to wait for February planting as is 
commonly done in such places. The antithesis of the De- 
cember and January cold is the July and August heat and 
drought in the interior, but this too is conquerable by irri- 
gation, with added shade for some tender-leafed plants, or 
by choosing moist, low land, of which California valleys 
both on the Coast and in the interior have great areas. 
The conclusion of the whole matter is that California val- 
leys and foot-hills are naturally fitted for almost endless 
succession of sowings and gatherings and such temporary 
unfitness as locally occurs is easily overcome by very 
simple cultural arts and provisions. Still there are best 
times for doing things for specific purposes and many of 
these can only be learned by local experience. An attempt 
will be made, however, to give hints to newcomers, or to 
the many who have not essayed vegetable growing and 
have thus neglected glorious opportunities, which will en- 
able them to realize, it is hoped, some directions in which 
promising efforts may be put forth. 
Seasonable Work in the Garden. — In view of the fact 



THE PLANTING SEASON. 1'39 

already emphasized that the planting season extends 
throughout the year and is regulated by local conditions 
and not by the calendar, it follows that other garden work 
constantly recurs, and it would be a hopeless task to at- 
tempt to specify certain times at which certain work 
should be done. The vegetable grower must use his own 
powers of observation and common sense, and not ex- 
pect to find in print the injunction that on a certain day 
he must do a certain thing. 

It may be possible to make such prescriptions in more 
steady-going climates but in our diverse local climates, 
which are either forcing or retarding, according to locali- 
ties, and according to times of the year in the same lo- 
cality, it is impossible to say just when a crop planted at 
a certain time should be hoed or cultivated, trained up or 
gathered, and the ground cleared up for other uses. All 
such acts will be omitted from our California garden cal- 
endar. Let it be understood rather that the grower must 
be always on the alert to do certain things without sug- 
gestion from any one, viz. : 

First: Stir the ground as soon as it will take tools well 
after the young plants have appeared above the surface, 
and thin the plants in the row to allow proper space for 
attaining good size. 

Second : Continue stirring afterwards whenever the 
soil Avorks well, for weed killing if there be any ; if not, 
stir the surface just the same. 

Third : Continue stirring so long as the cultivator does 
not seriously injure the plant by breaking its stems and 
foliage, and then use the hoe carefully to prevent the 
ground becoming compacted near the stem in places not 
reached by the cultivator. 

Fourth : Keep the condition of the plant constantly in 
sight and thought, to train or trim its growth to attain 
best results. Such treatment for each plant will naturally 
be noted in the place devoted to its special consideration 
later. 

Fifth : Watch for the attainment of such degree of ma- 



140 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

turity as makes each plant most desirable for food pur- 
poses. The slack gardener is apt to allow his veo-etables 
to become stale or over-ripe in the rows, and in that way 
miss their best estate. 

Sixth : Gather promptly and dispose of each, either by 
eating or selling, when it reaches this condition and 
quickly clear away the remains of the growth for stock 
feed or for the compost heap. Do not allow the plants to 
stand for the purpose of gathering seed from the culls 
which are rejected at picking. Select the earliest and 
best specimens for seed if any seed is to be saved. It is, 
however, only in exceptional cases that the farm gardener 
should save his own seed. It is better to buy up-to-date 
varieties from those who make a business of selection and 
improvement of garden varieties. Keep the garden al- 
ways clean and ready for something else. It is a mistake 
to let the garden lie neglected until the time for a spring 
revolution and upheaval, like that which Eastern gard- 
eners are forced to content themselves with. Of course, 
the error of stirring the soil when too wet must be care- 
fully guarded against, but there is much beside digging 
involved in gardening. 

Seventh : Irrigate, if necessary, and work the soil as 
soon as it works aright. Do not lose moisture by allowing 
the surface to become hard. No matter whether the 
ground is to be used for an immediate succession or 
whether it is to lie for some time, break up the surface 
and make it fit to receive water or retain water, as the 
case may be. 

These timely and important acts will not appear in our 
calendar for the reasons first stated. They are always in 
order in California, and if a man has to be told more than 
once to do them, there are serious doubts of his ever hav- 
ing been called to be a vegetable grower. 

CALIFORNIA GARDEN CALENDAR. 

As appears in the chapter on climate, the timeliness of 
certain operations in California is not regarded by geo- 



CALIFORNIA GARDEN CALENDAR. 141 

graphy nor latitiule, but by topography and environment, 
by moisture-conditions, either natural or acquired, and by 
the beginning and ending of the frost-free period. The 
broken country of the northwest quarter of the State, and 
the mountain elevations everywhere which are liable to 
snowfall, constitute regions which differ from the Coast 
valley, interior valley and foothill regions both north and 
south, and are, therefore, to a certain degree out of our 
calculation, though an effort will be made to include some 
recognition of their practice. The outline to be made of 
timely work is intended to cover the State in all parts ex- 
cept where wintry conditions in greater or less degree in- 
trude. 

Our seasons, shading into each other without striking 
division lines, make it necessary to select a somewhat ar- 
bitrary point of beginning for a garden calendar. The 
point midway between the closing of one rainy season and 
the beginning of another is, by virtue of its drought-and- 
heat-effects on the rainfall garden, and its heat-effects 
even on ground kept moist by irrigation or underflow, the 
time when garden growth is about at its lowest point. It 
is also a time when preparations are to be made for the 
earliest sowing. The arrangement is somewhat arbitrary, 
as confessed above, but it accords best with all matters 
involved to look upon the month of July as the beginning 
of the California year in vegetable growing. 

JULY. 

On ground moistened anew by underflow from rising- 
rivers or by percolation from irrigation ditches on higher 
orchard slopes, or on land cleared of an earlier crop, irri- 
gated and well worked, it is possible to plant vegetables in 
July for late fall or winter use. String beans, carrots, 
corn, parsnips, potatoes, salsify, squashes, turnips, etc., 
will all come on rapidly in the interior heat, if adequate 
moisture is furnished and frosts are reasonably late. Mel- 
ons are also successfully thus sown and with heat enough 
will mature in September from July planting. Near the 



142 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Coast or in the interior, with shade, encnmbers, lettuce, 
radishes and other salads will thrive. Cabbage and cauli- 
flower seed sown in proper beds or boxes, soon gives plants 
for later setting which will mature for Christmas and on 
through the early winter. 

AUGUST. 

Corn and potatoes planted in August may still have time 
to reach satisfactory condition of maturity, except where 
frosts are expected early. Cabbage and cauliflower seed 
will give plants for proper winter succession ; turnips on 
irrigated ground will also give winter crop. Onion seed 
may be sown for sets. August is a sort of divide in gar- 
den work. It is rather late to sow for fall use and rather 
soon to sow for winter use, and still August planting is 
practiced by many where local conditions take kindly to it. 

SEPTEMBER. 

Planting must still proceed upon moisture by irrigation, 
and planting for early winter use is still in order. Peas 
started with irrigation and carried until rainfall is ade- 
quate, will be ready for Christmas in regions where only 
light frosts occur, for peas are quite hardy. Cabbage and 
cauliflower should be sown in the seed-bed for succession 
of plants — in some places they grow slowly and can be 
taken out for planting until February. Beets and salsify 
will start for early summer use, and potatoes for the holi- 
days. Lettuce and onions can be sown in place or plants 
may be grown in a seed-bed for planting out after the 
rains come. In strictly frostless places, string beans, egg- 
plant, and tomatoes are planted for very early crop. 

OCTOBER. 

It is still time to plant cabbage, spinach, onions, lettuce, 
and turnips for mid-winter and spring use. Peas of early 
variety will still make the Christmas table in a favorable 
locality. Beans, egg-plant, and tomatoes are still sown for 
early crop in frostless places. 



CALIFORNIA GARDEN CALENDAR. 143 

NOVEMBER. 

Still plant for succession. Peas, lettuce, cabbage, onions, 

beets, spinach, salsify, turnips. The Coast valleys are now 

usually moist enough to carry all these hardy vegetables 

without irrigation, for late winter and early spring use. 

Asparagus roots are in shape for planting. Potatoes, 

beans, egg-plant and tomatoes are planted in frostless 

places for early crop. 

DECEMBER. 

The higher lands of the interior valley are usually ready 
for the rainfall garden. Beets, cabbage, cauliflower, car- 
rots, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes and turnips are hardy, 
though some roots sown at this time will in some places 
go to seed in the spring instead of enlarging. Potatoes 
are planted on slopes, well out of hard frosts. In north- 
erly coast valleys the soil is often too cold and wet to 
make seed sowing wise. In such places the growth gets a 
poor start. This depends greatly, however, upon the 
character of the rainy season for that particular year. 
JANUARY. 

On warmer, drier valley lands in regions of light rain- 
fall or on protected hillsides, plantings of beets, cabbage, 
carrots, peas, turnips, lettuce and onions are usually wise. 
In colder regions lettuce and onions and radishes are 
hardy, and thrive if raised out of the wet, and cabbage, 
cauliflower, pepper, celery, tomato seed should go into 
seed-beds to grow plants for later planting out. It is the 
first great potato planting month for regions of light 
rainfall or on warm, well-drained slopes in regions of 
heavier rains. But on low valley lands in wet regions, 
January is often too stormy and cold for open-air work, 
as has just been said of December. 
FEBRUARY. 

February is the great planting month, for everything 
but the very tender plants, like beans, corn, tomatoes, 
peppers, the squash family, etc., can now proceed with as- 



144 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

surance of adequate heat and moisture. It is the month 
for the dilatory man who has missed his earliest oppor- 
tunities to fill the ground with seed, and it is the time 
Avhen planting's in small frosty and rainy valleys, which 
have been deferred because the ground was too cold and 
wet to start seeds and plants well, may be confidently 
made. Successions and rotations are in order, as the fall- 
planted vegetables are cleared away. Early small plant- 
ings of string-beans, melons and cucumbers will often 
carry through or can be easily replanted if the frost 
catches them. Potatoes are widely planted and will sel- 
dom be killed, though they may be cut back, except on 
low ground, which should be planted later. Chicory is 
sown, and sowing of sugar beets as a field crop for the 
factory, begins in February, on the warmer, drier lands. 

MARCH. 

Later plantings of all sorts of hardy vegetables for suc- 
cession is pursued. The venturesome on higher, warmer 
lands try corn, melons, squashes, tomatoes, and continue 
planting beans. Sugar beets are largely sown for factory 
use. Sweet potatoes should go into the hot-bed for slip- 
ping. 

APRIL. 

April is another month for succession planting of hardy 
vegetables, but it is getting late except where moisture is 
ample and late showers quite certain. Tender plants are 
out of serious danger except in especially frosty places. 
Beans can be confidently planted. Peppers, tomatoes, egg- 
plant, sweet potatoes, and other growths can be brought 
to the open ground. Corn, melons and squashes can be 
safely planted as field crops. The season's race is well 
along in its last quarter, the heat and drought have al- 
ready made hay and are ripening the grain. 

MAY. 

Everything for which there can be assured ample mois- 
ture can still be planted in the moderate heat of the Coast 



CALIFORNIA GARDEN CALENDAR. 145 

regions, but it is late for shallow-rooting plants to take 
hold in the interior heat, even with irrigation. Heat-lov- 
ing plants, like watermelons, corn, sweet potatoes, etc., 
will grow grandly with moisture enough. On the Coast, 
Lima beans, sugar beets for late crop, corn and roots for 
fall use will do well if well cultivated. All planting now 
which is well taken care of will carry its verdure and its 
crop to refresh the grower in the midst of the dry season. 
It is a time to seek and use moist land or to count on soon 
employing the fullest irrigation facilities the place affords. 

JUNE. 

June completes the garden year. It is the last chance 
to plant, and it is useless to plant at all except on land 
moist naturally or by irrigation. It is the last chance to 
get a second crop on land which has given produce. In 
the garden clear up all that has matured of the winter 
plantings, irrigate well, plow and quickly fine the surface 
and put in beans, beets, cabbage plants, corn, melons, po- 
tatoes, squash, tomato plants, and a succession of small 
truck, and be sure that they do not lack moisture, or their 
courses will be short and unprofitable. 

TABULAR SHOWINGS OF TIMES OF PLANTING. 

To afford the reader a condensed view of the facts noted 
in the foregoing suggestions for the months, tabular show- 
ings are prepared. These are not made from theoretical 
generalizations, but are prepared from records of actual 
practice which the writer has been collecting for the last 
30 years. It would be easy to add more data to the tables 
as inferences from what is laid down, but readers can do 
that for themselves. It is beyond question, for instance, 
that a vegetable planted in May and July could also be 
planted in June, and is no doubt planted in June in actual 
practice. But to present tables which are actual and not 
inferential, only affirmative and specific cases are given 
place. The work of several hundred growers is condensed 
into these tables. 

Separate showings are made for southern California and 



146 



CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



for the valley and foothill portions of the u})per part of the 
State. It will be seen that they sti'ikin<;ly a^-ree. There 
are practically frostless regions near the coast in sonthern 
California which are not fonnd elsewhere in the State, 
although it is only with the tenderest growths that the 
difference becomes apparent. Other vegeta])l(^s take about 
the same courses in early regions, both north and south. 
Still it is well to reduce the fact to a set of records such as 
these tables embody. 

TIMES FOR PLANTING CERTAIN VEGETABLES IN VALLEY AND FOOTHILL 
REGIONS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 





»-2 


< 




o 


> 

o 

12; 


Q 


►-3 




3 


< 




>-> 


Beans 


* 




*- 


*- 


*2 






*:•. 


*:■■ 


* 


* 


* 


Beets 






* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Cabbage 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 




Carrots 


* 




* 






* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 




Cauliflower .. . 












* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 




Celery 


















* 


* 


* 




Corn 


* 


* 












*3 


*;; 


* 


* 


* 


Cucumbers . . . 
















*n 


* 


* 






Eggplant 






*2 


*2 


*2 








* 


* 


* 




Lettuce 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Melons 


* 














*:i 


*.-; 


* 


* 


* 


Onions 




. . 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 




Peas 






* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 




Potatoes 




* 


* 


*- 


*-' 




* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Potatoes, sweet 




















* 


* 


* 


Radishes 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Salsify 






* 


* 


* 






* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Spinach 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


Squash 


* 
















*:; 


* 


* 


* 


Tomatoes .... 






*- 


*2 


*-■ 




*J 


*2 


*:: 


* 


* 


* 


Turnips 






* 


* 


:li 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 



'On irrigated land. 

"Frostless situations near southern coast. 

■■■Taking the chances of occasional frost and replanting in some 
places. 



THE FROST FACTOR. 



147 



TIMES FOB PLANTING CEKTAIN VEGETABLES IN VALLEY AND F( 
REGIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. 






H,<J m O )^ Q ^fo 

Beans * * * * * 

Beets * * * * * * * 

Carrots * * * * * * * 

Cauliflower ... *_ * * * * * * 

Celery * * * 

Corn * * * 

Cucumbers .... * * * * 

Eggplant 

Melons * * * * 

Potatoes * * * * * * * * 

Potatoes, sweet * * * * 

Salsify * * * * 

Spinach * * * 

Squash * * * * 

Tomatoes * * * 

^On irrigated or naturally moist low land. 

THE FROST FACTOR. 

The intrusion of the frost period is a local limitation of 
the planting season. Each vegetable grower should keep 
records of frost occurrence for his own guidance in future 
operations and for the public benefit, for the government 
weather service is very anxious to get local observations 
on this point. 

During the last decade the San Francisco office of the 
U. S. Weather Bureau has given particular attention to 
frost phenomena, including conditions of occurrence and 
prevention, and the publications by the local officer in 
charge, Prof. Alexander G. McAdie, comprise the best 
knowledge on the subject. 

The discussion in the chapter on California Climate as 
Related to Vegetable Growing shows that weather condi- 



148 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

tions are everywhere dependent to a dei»ree on local to- 
pograi)hy and environment, even tlionyli there are regional 
characters which mnst l)e unch'i'stood. In this phice it is 
fitting to emphasize especially the dates at which killinti; 
frosts have occurred in a large number of localities, be- 
cause such dates are seldom accurately remembered even 
in the localities concerned. The table which we have com- 
piled and arranged in our own way, according to districts, 
from data kindly furnished by Prof. McAdie, should be 
studied with the following points in view : 

First. The dates represent the first and last dates of 
killing frosts in each place during a decade. In most 
cases probably the dates are not in the same year. We 
wish to show the "worst ever" at each place. 

Second. Obviously, then, frosts at such dates are not 
to be often expected, and planters may usually take the 
risk of planting somewhat earlier and having tender plants 
mature somewhat later, as will be discussed in the next 
chapter. At the same time large plantings for a main or 
standard crop should be generally held back for the local 
frost-free period which the dates in the tables supply for 
each place. 

Third. Always remember, however, that there may be 
situations adjacent to the place where the record is made 
in which frost may be earlier or later, or both, according 
to the variations in local topography, exposure, etc., as 
explained in the chapter on Climate. There are also a 
few widely separated situations which may be considered 
almost, if not quite, frostless. 

Fourth. The tables give the elevation in feet above sea 
level in each case. This factor does inflnence frost occur- 
rence in a large way, but local frost phenomena are often 
determined by the relative elevation of situations in the 
same vicinity and by other conditions of topography 
affecting the movement of cold air and counter currents, 
perhaps, of warm air. 

Fifth. Thus it should appear that after all the writer 
can do to help the reader determine what his planting 



THE FROST FACTOR. 



149 



practice should be with refenece to frost occurrence, it 
still remains with the latter to do all that he can to under- 
stand his immedate spot of land through the teaching of. 
his own observation and experience. 

DATES OF SPRING AND FALL KILLING FROSTS. 1897 TO 1908. 



Location and county. Elevation. 

Upper Coast Region. 

Crescent City, IDel Norte 50 

Eurelva, Humboldt 64 

Upper Mattole, Humboldt 244 

Ukiah, Mendocino 620 

Fort Bragg, Mendocino 74 

Fort Ross, Sonoma 100 

Cloverdale, Sonoma 340 

Santa Rosa, Sonoma 181 

Peachland, Sonoma 220 

Sonoma, Sonoma 30 

Calistoga, Napa 363 

Napa, Napa 60 

Upper Lake, Lake. . : 1350 

Sacramento Valley and 
Foothills. 

Redding, Shasta 552 

Red Bluff, Tehama 307 

Rosewood, Tehama 865 

Corning, Tehama 277 

Chico, Butte 193 

Durham, Butte 160 

Biggs, Butte 98 

Oroville, Butte 250 

Palermo, Butte 213 

Fruto. Glenn 624 

Willows, Glenn 136 

Dunnigan, Yolo 65 

Guinda, Yolo 350 

Woodland, Yolo 63 

Davis, Yolo 51 

Vacaville, Solano 175 

Elmira, Solano 75 

Suisun, Solano 20 

Sacramento, Sacramento 35 

Folsom, Sacramento 252 

Wheatland, Yuba 84 

Auburn, Placer 1360 

Colfax, Placer 2421 

Eldorado, Eldorado 1609 

Placerville, Eldorado 1820 

Georgetown, Eldorado 2650 

Nevada City, Nevada 2580 

North Bloomfield, Nevada 3200 

Jackson, Amador 1900 



Latest 


Earliest 


spring. 


autumn. 


June 


19 


Sept. 


30 


May 


1 


Nov. 


7 


Apr. 


26 


Oct. 


20 


May 


2 


Oct. 


16 


Mar. 


18 


Nov. 


5 


Mar. 


21 


Dec. 


18 


Mar. 


25 


Nov. 


2 


May 


10 


Oct." 


29 


Apr. 


11 


Oct. 


18 


Apr. 


12 


Dec. 


2 


May 


1 


Oct. 


1 


Mar. 


30 


Nov. 


7 


Apr. 


23 


Sept. 


29 


May 


1 


Oct. 


17 


Apr. 


19 


Nov. 


7 


Apr. 


12 


Oct. 


4 


Mar. 


26 


Nov. 


2 


Apr. 


10 


Nov. 


6 


Apr. 


4 


Oct. 


22 


May 


10 


Nov. 


23 


Apr. 


30 


Nov. 


23 


Apr. 


7 


Nov. 


14 


Apr. 


4 


Nov. 


23 


Apr. 


26 


Nov. 


28 


Feb. 


25 


Nov. 


24 


May 


1 


Nov. 


16 


Apr. 


26 


Nov. 


26 


Apr. 


4 


Oct. 


22 


Apr. 


4 


Nov. 


24 


Apr. 


4 


Oct. 


26 


Apr. 


4 


Nov. 


13 


Apr. 


26 


Oct. 


17 


Apr. 


11 


Nov. 


24 


Apr. 


9 


Nov. 


7 


May 


2 


Oct. 


15 


May 


1 


Dec. 


5 


Apr. 


26 


Dec. 


20 


Apr. 


28 


Nov. 


28 


May 


1 


Oct. 


15 


May 


30 


Sept. 


29 


May 


22 


Oct. 


1 


Apr. 


28 


Oct. 


14 



150 CALIP^ORNIA VEGETABLES. 



Ckntral Coast Region. 

San Francisco, San Francisco 207 

Oakland, Alameda 36 

Berkeley, Alameda 320 

Niles, Alameda 87 

San Leandro, Alameda 50 

Livermore, Alameda 485 

Menlo Park, San Mateo 64 

San Jose, Santa Clara 95 

Santa Clara, Santa Clara 90 

Los Gatos, Santa Clara 600 

Gllroy, Santa Clara 193 

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz 20 

Laurel, Santa Cruz 910 

Aptos, Santa Cruz 102 

Watsonville, Santa Cruz 23 

Hollister, San Benito 284 

Salinas, Monterey 40 

Soledad, Monterey 183 

San" Ardo, Monterey 236 

San Miguel, San Luis Obispo 616 

Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo 800 

San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo. 201 

San Joaquin Valley and 
Foothills. 

Antioch, Contra Costa 46 

Lodi, San Joaquin 35 

Tracy, San Joaquin 64 

Milton, Calaveras 660 

Mokelumne, Calaveras 1550 

West Point, Calaveras 2326 

Jackson, Amador 1900 

Merced, Merced 173 

Fresno, Fresno 293 

Selma, Fresno 311 

Kingsburg. Fresno 301 

Hanford, Kings 249 

Visalia, Tulare 334 

Lemon Cove, Tulare 600 

Porterville, Tulare 461 

Tulare, Tulare 274 

Dinuba, Tulare 335 

Southern California. 

Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara.... 130 

Santa Paula, Ventura 350 

Los Angeles, Los Angeles 293 

Anaheim, Orange 134 

Riverside, Riverside 851 

San Jacinto, Riverside. 1550 

Redlands, San Bernardino 1352 

Escondido, San Diego 657 

Poway, San Diego 460 

El Cajon. San Diego 482 

Campo, San Diego 2543 



Mar. 


27 


Dec. 


IS 


Feb. 


15 


Dec. 


15 


Feb. 


19 


Dec. 


14 


Apr. 


29 


Oct. 


17 


Mar. 


28 


Nov. 


24 


Apr. 


12 


Nov. 


9 


Feb. 


13 


Dec. 


18 


Apr. 


9 


Oct. 


22 


Apr. 


9 


Nov. 


24 


Mar. 


8 


Dec. 


9 


May 


11 


Nov. 


6 


Apr. 


1 


Nov. 


23 


Mar. 


12 


Oct. 


24 


Mar. 


31 


Oct. 


31 


Apr. 


8 


Sept. 


22 


Apr. 


22 


Oct. 


17 


Apr. 


1 


Nov. 


21 


Feb. 


13 


Nov. 


30 


Apr. 


10 


Dec. 


9 


Mar. 


8 


Oct. 


22 


Apr. 


26 


Oct. 


30 


May 


18 


Oct. 


18 


Feb. 


1 


Dec. 


5 


Apr. 


9 


Oct. 


18 


Mar. 


14 


Nov. 


24 


Apr. 


7 


Nov. 


29 


Apr. 


28 


Nov. 


17 


June 


15 


Oct. 


7 


Apr. 


28 


Oct. 


14 


Mar. 


28 


Nov. 


28 


Mar. 


31 


Nov. 


11 


Mar. 


31 


Oct. 


20 


Apr. 


28 


Dec. 


23 


Apr. 


29 


Oct. 


25 


Apr. 


11 


Nov. 


16 


Feb. 


16 


Dec. 


9 


Mar. 


10 


Nov. 


26 


Apr. 


11 


Oct. 


20 


May 


2 


Nov. 


27 


Mar. 


18 


Nov. 


30 


Feb. 


16 


Dec. 


12 


Mar. 


9 


Dec. 


13 


Apr. 


17 


Dec. 


12 


Apr. 


2 


Nov. 


12 


Apr. 


S 


Nov. 


25 


Apr. 


9 


Nov. 


24 


Mar. 


IS 


Dec. 


7 


Feb. 


15 


Nov. 


18 


Mar. 


14 


Nov. 


19 


June 


17 


Sept. 


17 



July 


6 


Sept. 


13 


June 


24 


Aug. 


3(1 


June 


22 


Sept. 


S 


July 


6 


Sept. 


6 


June 


11 


Aug. 


20 


May 


1 


Oct. 


2 


June 


15 


Sept. 


25 


May 


25 


Oct. 


2 


Apr. 


11 


Nov. 


20 


July 


11 


Sept. 


5 



THE FROST P^ACTOR. 151 

Mountain Regions. 

Sisson, Siskiyou 3555 

Cedarville, Modoc 4675 

Susanville, Lassen 4195 

Laporte, Plumas 5000 

Greenville, Plumas 3600 

Boca, Nevada 5531 

Summerdale, Mariposa 5270 

Lick Observatory, Santa Clara.... 4209 

Tehachapi, Kern 3964 

Cuyamaca, San Diego 4543 

The general reader, after studying the foregoing data, 
may conclude that in nearly all the valley districts of 
California there is little difference in the length of the 
absolute frost-free period ; also that elevation influences 
temperature similarly in all parts of the State. At eleva- 
tions below 1500 feet, which is the point at which foothills 
begin to shade into mountains, there are about two-thirds 
of the whole year in which even the tenderest vegetation 
may be considered practically safe from injury from frost, 
and particular situations in which the frost-free period 
is even longer. On the other hand, there are mountain 
valleys, with good soil and sunshine and ample total heat 
for vegetables, in which tender plants must be always pro- 
tected, because frost may occur ever^y month in the year. 

The Endurance of Different Vegetables. — The degree of 
cold which plants will survive depends upon several con- 
siderations and conditions, involving state of air, moisture 
and of the plant itself, which makes it impossible to fix the 
injury point of a plant definitely. There is, however, prac- 
tical value in the following compilation made from reports 
by Pacific Coast growers as to the effect of our style of 
low temperatures, the temperatures being given as nearly 
as possible those in contact with the plant itself : 

TEMPEKATUBE AT WHICH CERTAIN PLANTS ARE LIABLE TO RECEIVE 
INJURY FROM FROSTS. 

Degrees Degrees 

Plant. Fahr. Plant. Fahr. 

Asparagus 29 Beans 31 

Cantaloupes 32 Celery 28 

Cucumbers 32 Onions 28 

Potatoes 30 Sweet Potatoes 31 

Spinach 21 Squash 31 

Turnips 26 Watermelons 31 



152 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

SUCCESSIONS AND ROTATIONS IN CALIFORNIA 
GARDENS. 

Naturally, an all-the-year growing season suggests con- 
stant use of the ground and the possibility of turning the 
soil over several times in the course of the year. This can 
be done by quick revolution, like the following: 

Where water is handy, two, three, or even four crops 
can be grown on the same ground in the year. Start April 
1 and sow the plot to lettuce, and with proper cultivation 
it will mature in two months. Resow with turnip-radish, 
which is a good summer variety. These will be fit to use 
in three weeks, or by the first week of July, when the 
ground will be ready for late cucumbers, which will occupy 
the ground until the first frost, or till nights become too 
cold for them to fruit. Now plant to carrots, beets, or 
onion sets, and any of them will be ready for use in Febru- 
ary or March. Here we have four crops within the twelve 
months, and no two of them occupying the ground at the 
same time. There are other combinations that would do 
as well. 

Though this rapid work is quite feasible, as shown, and 
many plants can enter into such combinations, the two- 
crop plan will probably be as fast movement as most farm 
gardeners Mnll keep up with, and that consists in fall sow- 
ing of hardy vegetables for winter and spring use. fol- 
lowed by spring planting of tender vegetables for summer 
and fall use. Occasionally there will be intervals in this 
rotation for a third or catch crop of lettuce, radish, etc., 
which takes a very short time. This will be a- vast im- 
provement on the present popular conception of garden- 
ing possibilities, and if the hint of a fall crop of tender 
vegetables like melons, beans, corn, etc.. planted in July 
to come on fast in the heat, followed by fall planting of 
the hardy list for winter use, these two crops will be 
gained before the outbreak of the usual "garden fever," 
which rallies all garden forces in Fel)ruary and IMarch. 
The agencies to demonstrate this broader conception of 
our gardening ])ossibilities are Will and Work and Water, 



SUCCESSIONS AND ROTATIONS. 153 

to which allusion is made in the chapter on Farmer's 
Gardens in California. 

Family Garden Programmes. — It will surprise anj^one 
who carries out rapid succession of plantings to see how 
much desirable food can be secured from a very small 
area. An enthusiastic farm gardener of Lakeside, San 
Diego county, says that his garden of 50 feet square sup- 
plies enough vegetables, excepting potatoes, for a large 
family, and requires less than half a day's attention dur- 
ing a week. He grows the following vegetables, planting 
each month in the year as follows : 

January — After the 20th, turnips, cabbage seed, carrots, 
lettuce, peas. 

February — Radishes, beets, salsify, spinach, onion seed 
or sets. 

March — Potatoes (in field), turnips, cabbage, lettuce, 
peas, cabbage plants. 

April — Cucumbers, watermelons, muskmelons, squashes, 
tomato plants, radishes, beets, salsify, corn, beans, sweet 
potatoes, cabbage seed. 

May — Carrots, lettuce, peas, onion seed or sets. 

June — Radishes, beets, beans, corn, salsify, cabhage 
plants. 

July — Carrots, lettuce, cabbage seed. 

August — Potatoes (in field), corn, beans, radishes. 

September — Cabbage plants, peas, turnips, salsify, and 
carrots. 

October — Beets, beans, onion sets, lettuce. 

November — Turnips, spinach, salsify. 

December — Winter radishes, peas, lettuce. 

He has the advantage of a very short period of frosts, 
and light ones at that. He plants in rows 18 inches apart, 
irrigates his garden every 10 days in trenches and culti- 
vates twice a week. In favorable seasons he has natural 
moisture from November to April or May. If the rainfall 
is light he cultivates twice a week. 

Another arrangement for succession is that practiced by 
a vineyardist in the Santa Cruz mountains, who grows 



154 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

veg^etables in his vineyard. ITe plows one furrow in the 
center, between the vines, manured in the furrow and cov- 
ered with a furrow plowed each side. The bed thus formed 
is planted in November with a row, thickly sown, of Am- 
erican Wonder peas, covered with the rake, making a 
smooth place where, about four inches from the peas are 
planted cabbage, Chinese Rose Winter radishes, onions, 
lettuce and turnip seed, mixed. Other sowings, adding 
carrots, beans, etc., are made, according to the weather, 
until May. In February he gathers radishes and lettuce ; 
in March, peas. He sells or gives away bushels of lettuce 
and radishes, and has enough to supply a big family from 
March 1 to July. As late as November he gathers beets, 
carrots, turnips and string beans. He has the advantage 
of a larger winter rainfall, and conserves moisture by cul- 
tivating between the rows every week in dry weather. 



CHAPTER XI. 
PROPAGATION. 

From what has been said of the favoring conditions in 
California for open air work and freedom from low tem- 
peratures, it may be rightly inferred that the higher arts 
of propagation involving the use of acres of glass and the 
most approved heating devices, are not to be found in 
California. The forcing of vegetables which is now com- 
manding such wide effort and investment at the East is 
only undertaken to a limited extent and although it is in- 
creasing with our advance in population and wealth, it 
will always be menaced by the open air work, both in av- 
erage situations and in frostless localities which are, at 
present, only worked up to a fraction of their capacity. 
Forcing is, however, accomplished with much less expen- 
sive structures and heating arrangements than at the East, 
because only slight drops in temperature are to be over- 
come. We have also a decided advantage in the large per- 
centage of winter sunshine. Forcing is, therefore, rela- 
tively cheaper than in wintry regions and there may be, 
ere long, an important industry. Of course the same gen- 
eral conditions which favor forcing with us also makes 
elaborate and expensive arrangements for growing plants 
for subsequent planting out, unnecessary. Not only do 
hot-beds of the scantiest construction and covering answer 
local purposes, but even their heating materials have to be 
toned down by more slowly fermenting intermixtures and 
by freer entrance of air, lest the growths be over-forced. 
Often, as wnll be described presently, a little bottom heat, 
without close covering above, is all that conditions require 
to bring forward and protect tender seedlings until it is 
safe for them to take their chances under kind skies. 



156 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

GROWTH FROM SEED IN OPEN GROUND. 

Adequate heat and moisture are essential to germina- 
tion and subsequent growth. The preceding chapter has 
shown at what times these factors are present in California 
soil, either by nature or artifice of the planter. Heat is 
always adequate for the germination of the seed of com- 
mon vegetables, in well-drained surface soil in the Cali- 
fornia valley regions. Even in our frosty weather, the 
day temperature of the soil is adequate for germination 
except, perhaps, during the colder storms and seldom does 
our rain have too low a temperature. Even in this it is 
not so much the matter of germination as of conditions 
inhospitable to the subsequent growth of the germs. It 
makes little practical difference, perhaps, whether the 
seed is killed or the germ perishes after starting. But the 
death of either seed or germ is more often due to moisture 
lack or excess, than to temperature conditions. For this 
reason a sowing may go for naught if seeding is done in 
the fall without thorough moistening of the soil by irriga- 
tion or rainfall, or the same disappointment may follow 
sowing even seed of hardy plants in certain localities in 
December and January in years of heavy rainfall. For 
these reasons it is all-important that the vegetable grower 
should carefully observe his local conditions of soil heat 
and moisture and arrive at proper deductions from his 
own experience as to what acts he should perform under 
his ruling local conditions and the peculiar phases of the 
weather of the particular year in which he is acting. And 
then a vegetable grower, in garden practice, which in- 
volves succession of small areas, must be enterprisingly 
venturesome. He must take some chances of losing a sow- 
ing or planting and of renewing it, and he should always 
keep adequate supplies of seeds or seedlings at hand. It 
is a great deal better to lose a sowing than to set up some 
arbitrary dead-sure date for sowing; for with such a 
policy he will never have anything early, and perhaps 
never anything profitable. Field work for staple vege- 



GROWTH FROM SEED IN OPEN GROUND. 157 

tables is another proposition, but field work for shipment 
of early stuff is always attended by some risk, for the 
grower has to venture everything on doing the best he can 
to be safe and early, but to be early at any rate. 

Although this is true, it must always be remembered 
that nothing is gained in working the soil or sowing the 
seed when the soil is not in condition to work well. Some 
results of this bad practice have been mentioned in other 
connections and they are deplorable, especially in the 
heavier soils. It is especially an error of judgment in seed 
sowing to suppose that any time can be gained by sowing 
early upon an unfit seed bed. Even if a fair stand should 
be secured there will be handicaps upon the plants all 
through their course, and a somewhat later planting with 
the soil in good condition will probably surpass them both 
in time and quality. 

There is often advantage in soaking seed overnight in 
tepid water. The lighter the soil and the later the sowing 
the greater benefit will accrue from this method of hasten- 
ing germination. When the wet seed is difficult to handle, 
or when it is to be used with a seed-drill, sift some fine 
ashes over the seed. This will take up the surface mois- 
ture and allow them to run through the drill easily. 

Arranging Moisture Conditions for Germination. — In 
addition to the greater undertakings described in the 
chapters on irrigation and drainage, there are little acts 
which are of the utmost importance in securing moisture 
conditions favorable to germination and growth. 

First: Seed covering. Darkness is favorable to ger- 
mination of most seeds, but covering is primarily for two 
other purposes. One is to assist the seedling in its anchor- 
age and root penetration, but the more important is to 
insure it moisture. There can be no positive rule for depth 
of sowing. Five times the diameter of the seed might do 
at the best of the season in the best of garden soil, but this 
depth would be too great for some seeds in some soils in 
the rainy season and far too shallow for the same seed and 
soil in the dry season. On all soils the rule must be shal- 



158 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

low sowing, if large rainfciU is characteristic of the region : 
deep sowing if scant rainfall is to be expected: shallow 
sowing early in the rainy season : deep sowing near its 
close: shallow sowing on the heavier soils: deep sowing 
on the lighter soils. Late in the season the surface layer 
which is air dried in spite of stirring, does not count as 
depth at all. It must be brushed aside and the seed sown 
in the moist layer beneath whether the sowing is done by 
hand or with a seed drill. Later cultivation will level the 
soil back around the plant stem to assist in retaining mois- 
ture below. Conforming to this condition, the larger sum- 
mer-sown seeds should be sown in the light soil of the 
interior valleys at four to six inches deep — twice or three 
times the depth prescribed for the seed in humid climates 
or in the humid side of our own climate. Seeds sown in 
hills can stand deep planting better than when sown 
singly, as they seem to join their strength in uplifting the 
weight of soil above them. 

Second: Soil firming. This is another act which aids 
the seed in other ways, but is primarily for moisture furn- 
ishing. A seed thrown into a loose surface layer may ger- 
minate and perish for lack of moisture and soil-contact or 
it may lie unquickened until a footstep or a shower com- 
pacts the earth about it. It may thus lie half a year in 
California. ]\Iany amateurs are much too kind in their 
intent and too cruel in their method, by making the sur- 
face as loose as possible and then gently placing the seed 
in the loose layer. It is better to jump on it with both 
feet. Whether it be done by direct tramping or by tramp- 
ing a narrow board placed upon the sown row, or tramped 
down with a block with a long handle, or by using the 
garden or field roller, or by flat slaps with the back of the 
planting hoe, it matters not ; it is only essential that the 
firming of the inclosing layer should be given unless im- 
mediate water settling of the ground is anticipated. And 
this firming is conditioned in degree upon soil and season 
. just as depth of covering is, viz. : light soil or late in 
season, heaviest firming; heavier soil or early in season. 



GROWTH FROM SEED IN OPEN GROUND. 159 

lighter firming. The reason for firming is the restoration 
of capillarity to the loose layer, consequently adequate 
moisture supply to the germinating seed. But when this 
capillarity has served its purpose and the root has pene- 
trated the permanently moist layers below, this capillarity 
must be destroyed by cultivation and the surface layer 
again loosened so that it will not transmit moisture. There- 
fore, as prescribed in the chapter on Cultivation, the hoe 
or cultivator must be started as soon as the young plants 
can be seen, and in some larger seeds where the firmed 
layer has been crusted by a shower a light harrowing or 
raking may be desirable to release the shoots from the too 
compact covering which has come over them. 

Third: Soil opening. The converse of firming the soil 
about the seed is drying of the surface soil when unex- 
pectedly heavy rains have come and the water does not 
percolate rapidly enough to bring the surface layer into 
good condition for growth. In such an event seed can 
often be saved from rotting by the light raking or har- 
rowing or cutting with a disc, to allow the air to assist 
drainage in relieving the surface layer of its excess. The 
wisdom of this course is always conditioned upon the 
character of the soil. A sticky soil would be more harmed 
than the seed would be helped by it. 

Fourth : Mulching. The use of a light mulch of chaff 
or corral-scrapings or rotten straw or other fine, loose 
material is of value in garden practice of it does not occa- 
sion too great cost or labor to procure or prepare it. The 
larger the seed the thicker the layer may safely be, and 
with the mulch, shallower planting, and probably quicker 
germination, is possible. The mulch lessens evaporation 
from the surface and thus gives the seed a surer supply; 
it also prevents puddling of the soil surface by pelting 
rain drops and keeps the particles both moist and loose 
for the thrust of the shoot. A mulch also makes it much 
safer to sprinkle the bed if rains delay. In garden prac- 
tice it can hardly be too highly commended. On heavy 



160 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

soils sawdust or sand can be used for tliis purpose if they 
are the most available materials. 

Fifth: Irrigation. Starting seeds by irrigation on soil 
that has good capillarity and lateral j)ercolation (or 
"seeps well" as the common phase is) releases one from 
several of the injunctions just laid down. The covering 
should be shallow, as the moisture will rise to the surface ; 
no firming needs to be done, for the water will settle the 
soil, and when the moisture is ample, stopping the supply 
will quickly allow the escape of the surplus. It may 
sometimes be desirable to use a light mulch to protect the 
surface from baking and give the seedlings a few days' 
more growth before it is necessary to stir the surface. 
Seed starting in this way with the raised beds and perma- 
nent ditches and the ridge irrigation system, all of which 
are described in the chapter on Irrigation, is very satis- 
factory. The application of it to various vegetables will 
be given in the treatment of each. Where the seeds are 
to be started by the furrow system on land that will draw 
water well laterally, the seed can be sown in shallow 
trenches, leaving the seeds barely covered. Then irrigate 
by turning water into shallow irrigation trenches made 
some twelve or fifteen feet apart. Let the water soak 
through and completely moisten the surface until it has 
spread across all the seed trenches, and until the little 
clods are broken down and dissolved. The seeds are thus 
well covered and enabled to sprout and come up before 
the soil is dried out. Subsequent cultivation levels the 
ground, giving the seedlings sufficient depth of covering 
and new furrows are plowed for later irrigations. This 
is only one of many ways by which seeds can be started by 
irrigation. 

GROWTH FROM SEED UNDER COVER. 

This broad title is used to include about all that is done 
in California except under the sky cover. In the chapters 
on the different vegetable^, which will follow, there will 
be mentioned special propagating methods employed with 



GROWING SEEDS IN BOXES. 161 

each, but in this place a few protecting and promoting 
arrangements will be described for the benefit of begin- 
ners in garden work. 

Seed Boxes.— Seed boxes are the simplest arrangement 
for starting seedlings for subsequent planting out and in 
most amateur gardening in this climate they will com- 
prise about all that is necessary in the way of construc- 
tion, because, as will be seen later, it is very easy to give 
them a little bottom heat if the grower desires, but they 
can be largely used without any. The chief advantages of 
starting seedlings in boxes instead of the open ground are 
the ease which the seed boxes can be carried under pro- 
tection from cold, beating rains or frosts, or protected 
from hot, drying winds or too intense sun heat, and the 
convenience with which moisture conditions can be regu- 
lated by covering and light sprinkling. 

There are no particular dimensions to be observed in 
making seed boxes, except that they should not be too 
large to be easily lifted and carried with their contents. The 
cases which inclose two five-gallon cans of coal oil', sawed 
in two lengthwise so as to make two wide, shallow boxes, 
serve an excellent purpose. It is more convenient to have 
all the boxes of the same size than to use odd sizes, in ease 
it may be desired to group the boxes in a hot-bed or other- 
wise for heat and covering. Be sure that the bottom has 
ample openings for drainage — either cracks or bored holes. 
The soil-layer in the boxes should not exceed three inches 
in depth. In ordinary amateur practice a good soil for 
these boxes can be made by taking good rich garden soil 
as a basis. Add sand and, if possible, the light mold from 
under an old straw stack, leaf mold, finely powdered 
rotted manure, or something similar, until you have a rich, 
friable soil. No definite rule can be given for mixing, 
except that the prepared soil should hold moisture well, 
have no tendency to cake, and never crack in the sun. 

Fill the boxes, and, with a small board, press the soil 
closely and evenly, so that it will retain moisture. The 
seeds should then be sown quickly and evenly over the 



162 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

surface or in lines, and pressed down by a smooth board 
into the soil, so that the seed, be it large or small, will 
form a level surface with the soil. This being done, the 
same prepared soil should be sifted evenly over the top, 
just enough to cover the seed. Again press this layer of 
soil which has covered the seeds gently with the smooth 
board. 

It is a great help to the seed to have the surface again 
covered with a light material that would hold moisture, 
such as dry moss, or powdered vegetable matter of any 
kind which is light and will hold moisture. This should 
be rubbed through the sieve over the seed boxes, just 
thick enough to cover the soil (not more than one-six- 
teenth of an inch). It is very beneficial in the germina- 
tion of the seed, as with such a top-dressing one w^atering 
with a fine rose watering-pot will keep the soil moist 
.enough usually until the seeds come up. It is a great 
mistake to be continually watering seeds after they have 
been sown. The rule in all these things is never to water 
until tlie surface indicates that the soil is dry. 

A Cold Frame. — The arrangement w^hich comes next to 
the seed box in simplicity is the cold frame. It is simply 
for the purpose of concentrating sun heat and protection 
from low temperatures and heavy rain storms. It is a 
convenient receptacle for the seed boxes already de- 
scribed, or it may be put over, seeds sown in the ground — 
the soil being prepared to receive the seed in about the 
same way already described for filling the boxes. The 
frame is made of inch boards, the front board about 
twelve inches wide, the back board or boards eighteen 
inches wide and the sides sloping from eighteen to twelve 
inches to meet the widths of the front and back boards. 
The frame is usually made three feet from front to rear 
(for convenience in working from the front, but can be 
)f any length desired). This frame is covered with glazed 
sash or cloth frames or lath frames or first one then 
another, according to the amount of protection and heat 
or of shade desirable. The arrangement is called a "cold 



COLD FRAMES AND HOT BEDS. 163 

frame" because no provision is made for bottom-heat. 
There are many modifications of the cold frame ; lath or 
slat houses or lath covers for beds with raised edging 
boards, etc., are all on the cold frame principle, and in this 
climate, Avhere so little increment of heat is required and 
where shade is often desirable, the arrangement serves an 
excellent purpose. 

The Hot-bed.— The hot-bed consists of a box like that 
described for a cold frame placed above a mass of ferment- 
ing manure which supplies bottom heat. The old regula- 
tion style of hot-bed was made by digging out a pit the 
size of the frame, throwing out the soil to a depth of 
eighteen inches or two feet. Fill in the excavation with a 
foot depth of fresh horse manure mixed with straw as 
it comes from a stable where the animals are well bedded 
with straw. Tread the manure down firmly ; put on the 
frame and cover the manure with eight to ten inches of 
good light and rich sandy loam that will not bake or 
crust over when sprinkled with water. Bank up the 
outside of the frame with the same kind of manure used 
inside, and cover with window sashes of the proper length 
to reach across the bed and rest on the sides. The sashes 
should not be too wide as it is desirable to uncover part 
of the bed at a time. As soon as the manure begins to 
ferment and heat the bed is ready for use. Sow seeds 
in rows from front to back of the bed, and germination 
will be very rapid. On warm days the cover should be 
lifted a little or partially or wholly removed, according 
to the heat of the day and the activity of the bottom heat 
in the bed. Water freely with water from which the chill 
has been removed. 

This old style of hot-bed is contrived to freely employ 
the heat of the fermenting manure and to push plants 
during zero temperatures in the outer air. Of course, 
where winter temperatures but rarely fall to the freezing 
point, and where the winter day heat often runs at shirt 
sleeves and sun-bonnet degrees, such a hot-bed is as ex- 
cessive in the garden as a feather-bed is in the house. For 



164 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

these reasons, the horse manure is made less active by 
considerable admixture of chaff or dried leaves or 
other mollients. This mixture is placed on the surface 
of the ground in a place protected from cold winds, and 
is properly mixed and packed down into a compact, flat 
pile, somewhat larger than the frame, which is placed 
upon the top of it and the same material is drawn up 
around the outside of the ends and sides of the frame. 
Inside the frame the soil is placed just as described for 
the hot-bed with a pit. This raised, instead of depressed, 
hot-bed is easier to make and it has other advantages for 
this climate. It is not likely to have its pit flooded and 
the heat choked off by rain water just at the time when 
its action is desired. It is also easier to prevent excessive 
heat because it allows better opportunities for radiation. 
But even with this the plants have to be very carefully 
watched and air freely given or they will become leggy 
and weak from too great forcing-heat. These local condi- 
tions have also given rise to other modiflcations of hot-bed 
arrangements which are excellent for this climate. 

A Horticultural Hot-box. — Mr. Ira W. Adams, a Cali- 
fornia vegetable grower of great ingenuity and insight, 
has devised a sort of automatic arrangement which 
changes from a hot-bed to a cold frame about the time the 
plants are ready to go from forcing to hardening off. He 
gives this description of it : 

"I take a dry-goods box, three or four feet long, two 
feet wide, and two feet or more in depth. This is about as 
small as it should be ; a much larger one can be used, if 
necessary. Into this I put fresh horse manure, and straw 
that has been used for bedding, and tramp it down occa- 
sionally as solid as possible, until it is within four inches 
from the top. Over this I scatter a little clean straw. I 
then use small boxes, three inches deep, and fill them 
nearly full with nicely-prepared soil, and, after sowing my 
seed, place each box in the warm bed and cover each one 
with a pane of glass, in order to retain moisture. It is 
necessary to remove the glass occasionally, for the pur- 



OTHER PROPAGATING APPLIANCES. 165 

pose of admitting fresh air. The main bed will soon com- 
mence to heat, as well as the earth in the box. Great care 
must now be taken for a few days, otherwise the contests 
of the boxes might become too warm, which would cause 
the young plants to grow tall and spindling, thereby ren- 
dering them almost worthless. This can be easily obvi- 
ated by lifting the boxes and placing under them an inch 
board, or a few bricks. On a cold night vary the boards 
or bricks as occasion may require. In a few days your 
plants will be up nicely, the heat of the bed will gradually 
grow less, and the plants will naturally favor themselves 
to the change. You will soon have what is termed a 'cold 
frame,' and your plants will grow strong and stocky, pro- 
viding care is taken to cover them during severe storms, 
as well as in cold days and nights. When they are yet 
small, and commence to crowd each other too much, trans- 
plant them to an /)pen, sheltered, raised bed, where they 
can be cared for until ready to set out in permanent beds 
or rows." 

A Warm Heap. — Another of Mr. Adams ' arrangements 
to give his seed boxes just as little heat as suits the pur- 
pose, consists in simply throwing up a heap of fresh horse 
manure, etc., under an old shed, and placing the seed- 
boxes on top of the heap. Great care must be taken for 
some days at least, as it becomes necesary to raise the 
boxes sometimes by placing them on a piece of board or 
bricks or to press them down a little into the heap, owing 
altogether to the amount of heat generated. A little too 
much is worse than not quite enough. After the plants 
get a few inches high they can be transplanted into open 
beds somewhat sheltered from the north winds, where 
they can remain until spring weather -fairly opens, when 
they can be again removed to the garden. 

Watering. — In growing plants with heat, moisture, 
conditions must be especially regarded. Too great mois- 
ture and "damping off" of seedlings is largely prevented 
in common vegetable seedlings b}^ adequate ventilation 
which has already been emphasized in connection with 



166 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

])reveiiti()ii of excessive heat. Too little moisture is almost 
as dangerous as too much. There should be, then, ample 
watering with a fine spray or sprinkle of water from 
which the chill has been removed. Most of the time, water 
standing in the sun for a day will be of satisfactory 
warmth, but if not, a little boiling water from the kitchen 
will temper quite a volume of cold water for use in the 
beds and frames. 

Covering for Beds and Frames. — California growers 
largely substitute cloth for glass in covering hot-beds or 
cold frames, because it gives all the protection needed, is 
also rather more of a safeguard against over-heating, and 
furnishes shade from too intense sun heat, which is liable 
to come on any winter day and do harm. This is an es- 
pecially valuable feature in amateur growing, where one's 
attention is apt to be distracted by other affairs. Besides, 
the cloth is of nominal cost. In the drier parts of the 
State the cloth is used without preparation. Where rains 
are more frequent, water-proofing is desirable. Take 
white cloth of a close texture, stretch it, and nail it on 
frames of any size you wish, putting in cross-bars to sus- 
tain the cloth if the frame is large. Mix two ounces of 
lime water, four ounces of linseed oil, one ounce of white 
of eggs separately, two ounces of yolk of eggs ; mix the 
lime and oil with a very gentle heat ; beat the eggs sepa- 
rately, and mix with the former. Spread the mixture with 
a paint-brush on the cloth, allowing each coat to dry be- 
fore applying another, until they become waterproof. 

To make waterproof cloth with less labor if consider- 
able quantity is wanted : Soften four and one-half ounces 
of glue in eight and three-quarter pints of water, cold at 
first; then dissolve in, say a wash-boiler full (six gallons) 
of warm water, with two and one-half ounces or hard 
soap ; put in the cloth and boil for an hour, wring and 
dry ; then prepare a bath of a pound of alum and a pound 
of salt, soak the prepared cloth in it for a couple of hours, 
rinse with clear water and dry. One gallon of the glue 
solution will soak about ten vards of cloth. This cloth has 



HANDLING SEEDS. 167 

been used in southern California for several years without 
mildewing, and it will hold water by the pailful. 

Handling of Seedlings. — As has been hinted already, 
seedlings grown by artificial heat or protection should be 
brought along by such adjustment of heat hoisture and 
fresh air that they are of good healthy color and sturdy 
growth. It is common practice to transplant the seedlings 
when quite small to other boxes of rather rich soil, in 
which they are more widely spaced, and to continue the 
growth with the heat for a time and then move the box to 
a cold frame, giving them progressively more air and less 
protection until they acquire a hardiness for the open air. 
In the farm garden these every-day coddling arts of the 
plantsman are apt to be neglected, and it will answer very 
well to thin out the plants enough in the original seed- 
boxes, and to harden them by gradually increasing the 
exposure in the declining heat of the hot-bed, and then 
under slight shelter in the open air, until the time comes 
for their removal to open ground. If, however, there is 
likely to be some time before planting out, the trans- 
planting from the seed-box to a protected bed in the open 
air will allow the postponement of transplanting to gar- 
den or field until a considerably later date. It is a mis- 
take to hold to long in the hot-bed or frame with the idea 
of gaining time by having large plants to transplant. 
Good, sturdy plants, well used to fresh air and the lower 
temperatures, will make the best records in the open. 

The points to observe for planting out seedlings in the 
open air are almost exactly the same as those already 
given in this chapter for the arrangement of proper mois- 
ture conditions for seed germination. Depth of planting 
depends upon the same conditions; firming of the soil 
about the rootlets is for the same reasons ; a loose surface 
above and frequent cultivation afterward are essential 
because of considerations already described. The ju- 
dicious use of water at transplanting is a very important 
point in late work or in planting out when the season is 
rather dry, but the use of water must always be accompa- 



168 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

an old caseknife, carefully put over the whole bed two 
inches of rich compost, made of fine creek sand and de- 
cayed sods a year or two old, mixed with fine sweepings 
from the cow yard gathered in summer and protected 
from winter rains. Tamp this prepared soil pretty firmly 
with the back of a hoe, and plant the seeds an inch or so 
in depth around each stick which serves to indicate the 
middle of each sod. Plant six to eight seeds in a hill, leav- 
ing finally three of the strongest plants. A box three by 
two feet will hold twenty-four sods. 

By this method Mr, Adams quickly gets a full family 
outfit ready to transplant in hills from one hot-box. He 
finds two hills of cucumbers, six of muskmelons, six of 
watermelons, and ten hills of pole beans, or eight hills of 
beans and two hills of summer squashes will furnish a fam- 
ily of five all or more than they can possibly consume, and 
some to sell or give away besides, if the plants are well 
taken care of. The box for early plants should be placed 
on the south side of a shed or barn in order to protect it 
from strong north winds, heavy cold rains, as well as dan- 
ger of frost, and water as needed with lukewarm water. 
Transplant the sods when safe by running a wide shingle 
or spade on the floor under each sod. In planting out, the 
sods must be well bedded in moist soil which is closely 
firmed around them, and the surface kept loose. 

Cuttings and Layers. — Many herbaceous stems of gar- 
den vegetables root readily from cuttings. Higher heat 
and greater moisture are as a rule requisite for such cut- 
tings than for hardwood cuttings of fruiting and flower- 
ing plants, but some, like the potato, sweet potato, globe 
artichoke, etc., root quickly in open ground taken from 
sprouts taken from parent stock, and others, like the to- 
mato, grow from cuttings of aerial stems. In the open 
ground the soil must be warm and moist and the air moist 
also. These conditions usually occur in California at the 
beginning or especially towards the end of the rainy sea- 
son, or they can be produced in a hot-bed at any time. 
The cuttings should not wilt, and shade is of advantage 



TRANSPLANTING IN HILLS. 169 

nied by stirring of the surface or other means of prevent- 
ing evaporation, or else the plants will dwindle, and on 
investigation the dead stem will be found to resemble a 
match stuck in an unburned brick, if the soil is at all 
heavy in its nature. 

Planting Seedlings. — Seedlings to be planted in the 
field for horse cultivation are distanced by the use of a 
marker, as described in the chapter on laying off. In 
small beds for hand work, the plants can be accurately 
distanced both ways by using a "planting board." It is 
made of width equal to the desired distance between the 
rows, and of a length equal to the width of the bed, and is 
carefully cut, by the use of a carpenter's square, so that 
the ends are exactly at right angles to the sides. By 
stretching a line along the length of the bed, and making 
one end of the board true with that line, the sides of the 
board will mark two parallel lines across the bed, and 
notches cut at desired distances in the sides of the board 
will show where the plants are to be set. If the board is 
carefully used the bed may be quickly set with plants, 
which will stand in straight lines both ways. Standing 
on the board while planting prevents impacting the 
ground surface and disfiguring it with foot-prints. 

Plants Ready Grown in Hills for Transplanting. — All 
seedlings which it is desirable to grow in groups or hills 
are very neatly and safely handled by Mr. Adams by the 
use of inverted sods in connection with his hot-box already 
described. About the first of April, in Napa valley (it 
may be done earlier in many parts of the State), he takes 
sods of native growth six inches square and four inches 
deep, or he grows in seed-boxes alfalfa sods, which will 
form sufficiently in six weeks from sowing the seed. He 
makes a temporary floor of old boards and places it on 
top of the packed manure of his hot-box. The inverted 
sods are then packed closely on this floor with the grass 
gathered in nicely under each sod. Exactly in the middle 
of each inverted sod thrust a small stick, and after scari- 
fying each sod thoroughly an inch or two in depth with 



170 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

when practicable, for cuttings made from aerial stems, as 
they are more prone to collapse than sprouts from the 
tuber or root crown. 

Layering is often a handy way to multiply many vege- 
tables with branching stems. Cover the stems wnth moist 
earth and they usually root readily. In some cases a short 
slit with a knife lengthwise of buried stem aids in rooting. 
A Consideration of Cans. — It would not do to ignore 
the can method of vegetable growing and deny this refuse 
tinware its place in amateur gardening, for really some 
very creditable things are done in cans. If one prepares 
the right kind of soil, with such texture that it will form 
neither a leach nor a brick, and then strives for correct 
temperature and moisture conditions and makes drainage 
holes enough, a plant will grow in a tin can as well as 
in some more distinguished receptacle. Many housewives 
grow very creditable tender plants for planting out by 
using old tin cans and a sunny window shelf. Some de- 
voted city gardeners make surprising successes on the old- 
can foundation. In San Jose a few years ago there was 
a back yard 12 by 25 feet, surrounded by high white- 
washed fences and sheds, which cast a blinding glare in 
the eye of the visitor. Gardening enthusiasm and tin cans 
transformed the scene. Tomato vines ran above the eaves 
of the shed, being trained to the wall like grapevines. Be- 
tween the tomato plants were squash vines, from which 
the laterals and leaves were cut as they grew toward the 
roof, so that they w^ere little more than a have stem below 
the eaves, but had a most luxuriant growth at the eaves 
and on the roof of the shed and back porch and along the 
top of fences. Large squashes ripened on the roof and 
shelves at the eaves and on fence tops. String beans, pep- 
pers, and mint grew below the running vines. Tomato 
plants over six feet in height were severely pruned near 
Cans of all sizes were used ; old, rusty five-gallon cans, 
breezes, and a little direct but more reflected sunshine, 
the ground to a bare stalk, giving free circulation to cats, 
with the bottoms punched full of holes ; small cans, one 



CONSIDERATION OF CANS. 171 

set over another and filled half full of fresh bones, and 
poured into the cans, leached through the ashes, combin- 
ing a complete fertilizer and system of sub-irrigation. The 
cans were often artfully concealed from sight, but they 
were there as the foundation of an enterprise. By their 
use and the employment of vertical space for the plant 
extension, this little mite of a city back yard was made into 
a pretty greenery without interfering with its function as 
a clothes-drying yard on Mondays. "When one sees such 
things he is led to wonder whether there is anything which 
Will and Work and Water can not accomplish. 



CHAPTER XII. 
ARTICHOKES. 

The Globe or Bur Artichoke. — Ci/iiam Scolynius. 

French, artichaut ; German, artisehoke : Dutch, arisjok; 
Danish, artiskok ; Italian, articiocca, carciofo ; Spanish, 
aleaehofa ; Portuguese, alcachofra. 

Edible part, portions of young flower buds. 

The Jerusalem Artichoke. — IIdi<inilius fvherosus. 

French, topinambour ; German, erdapfel ; Flemish, aard- 
peer; Danish, jordskokken; Italian, girasole del Canada; 
Spanish, namara ; Portuguese, topinambor. 

Edible part, the tuber. 

San Francisco has the reputation of being the city of 
the -United States best supplied with the delicious young 
over these several inches of fresh wood ashes. Water 
flower buds of the globe artichoke. Although this is true, 
it is also a fact that the plant is not used to even a small 
fraction of its possibility in California. It is perfectly 
hardy in our valley climates, in fact, it makes its chief 
growth in the winter and yields its crop from March on- 
ward, thus completely reversing its Eastern and north 
European record, where it starts growth in the spring 
from roots which have been covered out of reach of freez- 
ing all winter. For this reason it is not necessary to lift 
plants and carry them under cover nor to pluck bud- 
stems and advance them to edibility away from the freez- 
ing as may l)e necessary in wintry climates. In fact, in 
places of little frost the plant forgets to l)eeome dormant, 
or takes a very short rest, and the vegetable is to be found 
in the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets nearly all 
the year. The plant is, therefore, of especial value in Cali- 



PROPAGATION. 173 

foriiia for use in late winter and early spring when garden 
supplies are scantiest. It is a garden ornament also with 
its height of four feet or more, its large, pinnatifid leaves, 
light green above and whitish below, and its flowers in the 
style of a colossal thistle head. 

Soil. — The globe artichoke will thrive on any well-pre- 
pared garden soil and does not refuse a pretty heavy 
adobe if well cultivated to retain moisture. It delights in 
manure and is benefited by it both in the tenderness of its 
buds and the multiplication of bearing stems. 

Propagation. — The plant grows readily from seed which 
may be planted either in boxes or the open ground from 
September to January, if irrigation is available : if not, 
sow as soon as the ground is deeply moistened by rain. 
The seedlings may be transplanted to permanent place 
whenever the ground is suitable the same season. 

But there is much variation in plants from seed and 
parts taken from old plants of good type are to be pre- 
ferred. The plant grows readily from dividing the stool 
or from suckers detached from the root crown. The latter 
furnish an excellent means of multiplication and should 
be secured by first uncovering the stool as soon as there 
is a good growth of new shoots with well-developed leaves. 
Remove the shoots carefully with a knife or sharp gouge 
so as to take a small part of the parent root at the base of 
the shoot. Many plants can thus be taken from a single 
root-crown and a fcAV of the best shoots left for growth. 
Shorten the leaves somewhat to reduce evaporation until 
new roots are formed. These sprouts can be planted at 
once in permanent place if the ground is warm and moist 
and will bear late in the same year. It is possible then by 
starting new plants at intervals to have a long producing 
period in each year. The old stools will continue bearing 
for many years. 

Distance. — So free is the growth in this State, it is bet- 
ter to give a good distance : three feet apart in rows which 
are four or five feet apart is not too much room for con- 
venience. As the plant is high and rather dense the rows 



174 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

should be placed in the l)ackgroiind of the small garden 
and its nse as an ornamental hedge or screen is suggested, 
providing the ground is kept rich and well cultivated. 

Gathering. — The flower buds should be removed as soon 
as they are well formed and before the scales open. In 
this condition they are more tender and a larger portion 
of the scale is edible. As the bud stands at the apex of 
the shoot, the shoot should be cut to the ground. If this is 
done the plant is induced to send up more shoots. As soon 
as flowers are allowed to open, the growth of shoots from 
below is checked or stopped. Hence prompt cutting as 
soon as in condition insures a larger bearing season, but 
as other vegetables come into condition, the plants should 
be allowed to make free top growth for the reinforcement 
of the roots for the next season. 

Viariety. — The variety chiefly grown in California is the 
Large Green Paris, a vigorous grower yielding buds of 
large size with scales very fleshy at the base and set in a 
broad receptacle also fleshy. This variety grown for suc- 
cession seems to leave little opportunity for the use of 
other varieties. 

THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 

This plant which will be readily recognized as a tuber- 
ous-rooted sunflower, is exceedingly prolific in California. 
It is not largely used for human food, though it is usually 
to be found in the San Francisco market. It somewhat 
resembles a potato in flavor, and yet has its own distinc- 
tive character, and is cooked in several ways. It may be 
baked, or pared and cooked like salsify, or boiled for use 
in soups and salads. 

Soil, Culture and Yield. — The Jerusalem artichoke is 
not very particular about soil. It reaches better form in 
rather a light soil, as does a potato, and it yields enor- 
mously on a rich loam, but it will probably yield a greater 
weight on a poor, dry soil than any other crop known. S. 
J. Murdock, of Orange county, gives this account of the 
plant ; 



SOIL CULTURE AND YIELD. 175 

"The preparation of the ground and the subsequent cul- 
tivation is the same as for potatoes ; the rows should not be 
less than four feet apart, and three feet between plants. 
Plant small tubers or the larger ones cut to two eyes, and 
about four inches deep. Keep the ground stirred to pre- 
vent weeds, till the plants shade the patch, and then they 
will take care of themselves. They should yield from 
seven to fifteen tons per acre, or even more, with a good 
stand, good soil, and care. On a dry year a neighbor of 
mine planted one acre to artichokes, but got but little over 
half a stand on account of parts of his land being too dry. 
Yet with his partial stand he raised ten tons of tubers. " 

But Mr. Murdock and his neighbors operate on a peat 
soil of great looseness and richness, which favors the 
maximum size and multiplication of the tubers. His re- 
sults are, therefore, not attainable everywhere, but still 
the growth and productiveness of the plant are marvelous 
in this climate. 

Gathering. — In the garden the artichoke bed can be re- 
garded as a permanent investment. Digging can begin in 
the autumn at one end of the bed and proceed regularly 
through it as the tubers are wanted until growth starts in 
the spring. Selecting the large tubers for use and leaving 
the small ones in the soil will harvest and replant the crop 
at one operation. It is necessary to dig at intervals for 
the tubers are prone to decay and cannot be stored as 
potatoes are. 

Before the rains are over, the bed should have a top 
dressing of manure and then it is ready for another sea- 
son, with no farther care except pulling weeds which start 
early. 

The Jerusalem artichoke has been commended for years 
as a food for hogs — the animals to do their own harvestiug. 
Some growers are very enthusiastic over it, but why it has 
not been more widely employed has never been fully ex- 
plained. Some growers commend them highly as cow- 
feed, and when boiled, fowls eat them readily — but the 
cost of digging for such purposes is a serious drawliack. 



176 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Varieties. — Two varieties have been widely distributed 
in California : the White French and the Red Brazilian. 
The white kind is preferred for table use and the red is 
chosen for field growth for stock, as it is believed to be 
rather more vigorous and prolific. The red variety is, 
however, frequently found in our vegetable markets and is 
acceptable for table use. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
ASPARAGUS. 

Asparagus. — Asparagus Officinalis. 

French, asperge ; German, spargel ; Flemish and Dntch, 
aspersie ; Danish, asparges ; Italian, sparagio ; Spanish, 
esparrago ; Portuguese, espargo. 

Asparagus is a leading winter vegetable in California 
and is produced as a field crop for local sale, for canning, 
and tor Eastern shipment. It is not grown, however, as a 
garden crop for home use as widely as it should be. This 
is probably to be accounted for in part by the fact that in 
nearly all towns it can be cheaply bought during the late 
winter and spring : in part, also, to an exaggerated notion 
of the difficulty of making and caring for an asparagus 
bed. On the drier lands of the interior, even with irriga- 
tion, it is apt to be stringy and tough, but on interior, 
moist lowlands, it is grand and is largely grown on such 
lands both for canning and shipment fresh. In almost all 
parts of the State it is not difficult for the attentive gard- 
ener to secure crop and quality which will amply repay 
his effort. Regions open to Coast influences either directly 
or through gaps in the Coast liange, or regions where at- 
mospheric humidity is increased somewhat by evaporation 
from moist soil or wide water surface, as is the case in 
interior river bottoms, have superior conditions for the 
growth of the plant which is maritime in its origin and 
nature. On the peat lands of Orange county asparagus 
established itself as an escape from cultivation and it is 
stated that this demonstration of its choice of situation 
suggested the larger plantings for distant shipment which 
have been made. 

Soil. — The low peat lands of Orange county just men- 



178 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

tioncd are composed of vegetable del)ris intfriiiixed with 
sand, and are very loose and penetral)le in their mixture. 
They are also underlaid hy impervious sti-ata at consid- 
erable depth, which holds water Avithin reach oi' the plant 
roots. Similar soil and moisture conditions are found in 
the reclaimed lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
deltas where the greatest production and the largest as- 
paragus canneries are to be found. In both these regions, 
though 500 miles distant from each other, the conditions 
of soil, moisture, and heat are comj)arable and so are the 
growers' results. But it is not essential that just these 
conditions prevail. In the Santa Clara valley, in the Sac- 
ramento valley, and elsewhere deep, alluvial soils without 
any great amount of vegetable debris have for many years 
furnished large quantities to the markets. Any deep, 
rich sandy loam, moist enough to give a winter and spring 
crop and a summer growth of foliage to reinforce the 
roots, will grow good crops of asparagus for years wnth 
proper cultivation, generous manuring, and occasional 
salting. Soils which are too w^et or too dry or too heavy 
to allow free growth, yield inferior shoots, tough, stringy, 
or bitter as the case may be. Of course a heavy soil may 
be improved for a garden bed of asparagus by free use of 
sand and manure well worked through it, but conunercial 
plantings should only be made on naturally fit soils. 

Growing the Plants. — Asparagus grows readily from 
seed and in this State "well-grown yearling roots are used 
for planting out in preference to older ones. The house 
gardener can, therefore, save a year's time by buying roots 
from the seedsmen, but for the large plantation the 
grower will usually grow his own plants. This can be 
done in the open air ; adequate moisture and a light, fine 
soil will insure success the first year if the seed is grow'u 
early enough to get the benefit of a full season's growth. 

A light, coarse soil which may be excellent for the after 
growth of the roots, is not so good for starting the seed- 
lings because of danger of surface drying. A mixture of 
fine sediment will improve a coarse soil for this pni'pose. 



GROWING ASPARAGUS PLANTS. 179 

A very good way to get quick germinatiou and large root 
growth is to start the seed bed in February or March, as 
the soil becomes warm : get good, fresh seed ; take boxes, 
say apple boxes, or any boxes of about that size ; get good, 
clean sand, and mix sand and seed together, about 15 parts 
of sand to one part of seed ; fill the boxes with sand and 
seed mixed as described ; set away in a warm place and 
pour on water, quite warm, two or three times during the 
first two days. 

In the meantime, prepare and richly pulverize a piece of 
ground for a seed bed. Make rows about four feet apart 
by raking all lumps and clods away, forming a kind of 
ditch or depression about two or three inches below the 
level of the land. Make these ditches about one foot wide, 
and watch the seed closely, for if the seed is good in about 
seven days nearl}^ all the seeds will begin to sprout. Then 
take the boxes of sand and seed to the prepared ground 
and sprinkle it about a foot in width in the rows or ditches 
quite freely, using judgment all the time not to get too 
much or too little. Cover up with finely pulverized earth 
about one and one-half inches deep, and if the ground is 
moist, your plants will be up and growing in a few days, at 
least before the weeds will make their appearance. Let 
the plants stand there ; but take good care of them. They 
are very quickly injured by drying out. The bed should be 
kept clean and moist. 

This method gives seedlings scattered through a space 
one foot wide and though the cultivator may be used be- 
tween these foot-strips, there must be hand-pulling of 
weeds within the strips. For this reason some growers 
prefer to start the plants in thin rows by sowing the seed 
in a drill and afterwards spacing the plants in the row to 
prevent crowding on the roots. In this practice the rows 
are placed one to two feet apart according as hand or 
horse cultivator is to be practiced. Whichever method is 
followed it is important to start the seeds in a slight de- 
pression so that subsequent cultivation may level the 
ground and bring a deeper covering over the young root 



180 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

crowns to guard them from exei's.sive heat. Tlie seed can, 
however, in a light soil, be placed at a depth of two inches 
and the moisture can be retained near the surface by care- 
ful raking to prevent crusting over. A rake with thin 
teeth can be used even after the seedlings have appeared, 
to keep the soil loose about them. 

Planting Out the Garden Bed. — Garden beds or rows can 
be made by the old system of trenching, if it is desired, 
although recent practice rather discards it. Trench about 
18 or 20 inches deep, then fill up with well-rotted manure, 
dig the next trench and throw the dirt over on the top of 
the trench filled with manure, and so on until all is 
trenched. Then begin and stir the last trench up with the 
dirt, measure off the distance the asparagus plants are to 
stand, say two feet if for hand hoeing, and then stick a 
stake, set the plants, and then take the dirt off the next 
trench to cover the plants, and so on until over the ground, 
when all the plants will be set. 

If the garden is small, the soil rich, and moisture ample, 
some other use can be made of the bed the first year. The 
stakes will show the location of the asparagus roots. Be- 
tween these stakes set a cabbage plant and then in the 
middle of the row set out lettuce plants, and sow radishes, 
carrots, and early turnips. The carrots and radishes will 
be disposed of before the cabbages are ready, and some 
other quick growing vegetable can be put in, after irri- 
gation. The second year give the whole ground to the 
asparagus, and in the fall clean off the bed, cover with a 
eoat of coarse manure to keep the ground from packing 
with the heavy rains, and fork it all in early in the fol- 
lowing spring, being careful not to injure the root crowns. 
A small cutting can be made the second season, but it 
will help future crops to cut very little. 

Field Planting of Asparagus. — Roots can be moved from 
the seed-bed to the field at any time from November to 
April, according to condition of soil and activity of roots. 
As with other plantings, however, early practice is better 
when all is favorable. As to methods of planting in the 



FIELD PLANTING OF ASPARAGUS. 181 

field, the experience of two prominent large-scale growers 
is given. First, the method of Mr. William Boots, one of 
the old line asparagus growers on the alluvial lands of the 
Santa Clara valley : 

"Next March (for I think March the best month to plant 
in, all else being equal) choose a good piece of land, the 
very best is none too good, and plow just as deep as you 
can. I plow with four good horses on a single plow, and 
plow one foot deep, getting the land in as good condition 
as possible. Take a good team and draw furrows where 
the rows are wanted, going twice in the same place, just 
as deep as we can get the plow to run, throwing the furrow 
each way, making the distance six feet between rows. 
Then carefully take up the plants, carefully separate them, 
for if they have been very closely grown they will cling 
•together ; spread out the roots as you plant them, clearing 
away all clods or anything that may hinder the growth. 
Plant not closer than three feet between plants in the 
rows. For field planting for the market, by all means do 
not plant closer than seven feet between the rows, and 
three feet apart in the rows ; for if there is a plant that 
delights in plenty of room and air it certainly is asparagus. 
Cover the plants about two inches deep, and during the 
summer cultivation the pulverized earth will drop into the 
ditches, and by the time the season's cultivation is over 
the ditches or furrows will be nearly full, which finishes 
the first year in the field." 

Another method is that approved by S. J. Murdock, on 
the peat lands of Orange county : 

"The rows should be four feet apart and the plants 
eighteen inches from each other in the rows, and even 
more room would be better if the land is not too valuable. 
After the ground is well plowed and finely harrowed, mark 
out the rows the desired distance apart with a plow by 
going twice in each row, throwing a furrow each way from 
the center of the row, and from eight to twelve inches 
deep ; then go one or more rounds in this with a cultivator, 
closed up, so as to loosen up the soil well in the bottom of 



182 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the row. If you have any fine fertilizer put it in the row 
where you want to set your plants ; mix well with the soil 
and set your plants over it. Place the plants in the bottom 
of the prepared furrow, spread out the roots and cover 
crown and all about two or three inches — the lighter the 
soil the deeper the plants should be placed — so as to secure 
the proper moisture till they begin to strike root. After 
the planting has been done, take a light steel garden rake, 
or, if the rows are even enough, we would prefer the wheel 
hoe with the rakes on, and stir the soil the whole length 
of the rows. Then, when the shoots begin to grow and 
show themselves three or four inches high, the soil should 
be gradually hoed or cultivated to the plants till the sur- 
face is level. The ground should be kept moist, and in 
most localities irrigation will be found necessary to secure 
the best results. Do not neglect thorough cultivation, but- 
after the roots begin to fill the ground do not work too 
deep, as there is danger of injuring them." 

Giving the plant plenty of room favors its productive 
longevity, while closer planting may secure larger acre- 
yield at first. In the large commercial plantations on re- 
claimed lands of the Sacramento and San Joaquin river 
bottoms the plants are usually given much greater dis- 
tances — say nine or ten feet between the rows and the 
plants two feet apart in the row. Much greater depth of 
covering is secured by ridging the light, peaty soil, so that 
the shoots have to pierce about a foot of covering on their 
way to the light. This secures the great length of large 
white shoots which are characteristic of California canned 
asparagus. The ridges are made by the use of plows, disks 
and crowders which cut deeply between the rows and 
shift the soil over the root crowns, and the cutting is done 
by plunging a long gouge into the side of the ridge as the 
protrusion of a tip indicates the location of a good shoot. 
These ridges are split with a plow or disk when the cut- 
ting season is over, and the land leveled for the summer 
growth. This is simply an enlargement of old practices, 
as described below, as the light soil, largely made of partly 



SUMMER TREATMENT OF ASPARAGUS. 183 

decomposed vegetation, favors cheap shifting of great 
bulks of it to serve different needs of the plants. 

Later Treatment of the Asparagus Field. — There are 
several points to gain in subsequent cultivation of the 
asparagus field. One is early starting of the plants, and 
for that purpose some growers plow first away from the 
rows to open the ground better to the winter sunshine ; 
another is to induce the growth of long, tender, white 
shoots, and to retain moisture for prolonging the cutting 
season, and to aid summer growth of foliage, and for these 
ends the early spring plowing is to cover the rows with a 
deep layer of loose soil. Mr. Boots' method is as follows : 

"Now do not attempt to cut any asparagus until your 
plants have grown two years, but cultivate thoroughly. 
The second season's growth you will find quite strong, 
and along in the fall, after the frost has killed the tops, 
take a mowing machine or scythe and cut the tops close to 
the ground, pile up and burn on the ground, as your plants 
are too deep in the ground to be affected by the fire. Some 
time in November or December, and not later than the 
first of January, take two horses and plow, and go along 
the rows close to the stubs that you cut off, throwing the 
furrows from the rows, then follow along with sharp hoes 
and cut the stubs way low down ; also break down the 
little ridge that will be left between the furrows. 

' ' The sun and air will warm and start the roots to grow- 
ing, sometimes as early as the first of January, and the first 
plowing ought to be done before the sprouts begin to make 
their appearance. 

"Along in the early spring after the heavy rains are 
over, and the plants have begun to push up nice healthy 
sprouts, take two horses and plow, and reverse the opera- 
tion by throwing the earth back onto the rows, leaving 
the dead furrow in the center between the rows, covering 
the plants up deeply, leaving the plants under the ridge. 
Then take a fine, sharp-toothed harrow, and drag along 
the rows the same way the plow went, which will cut up 
and drag out all clods and lumps, and leave the earth in 



184 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

fine condition for the sprouts to come up through, for 
should the ground not be in good order, your 'grass' will 
be crippled and crooked. It will also be tough, fibrous, 
and bitter. 

"Continue thorough cultivation with plenty of manure, 
no matter what kind or how rough. At the same time 
finely rotted manure is profitable. There is one thing to 
be borne in mind in the producing of asparagus ; you can 't 
fertilize too much. The better cultivated and the more 
fertilizers the greater will be the quantity and the better 
will be the quality produced. We plow thoroughly about 
three times a year, and harrow as often, and in the cut- 
ting season keep the weeds out with hoes." 

The method of alternately opening and covering the 
rows is somewhat conditioned upon the local soil and rain- 
fall. The looser the soil and the lighter the winter rain, 
the less the need of such operation, because in such situa- 
tions the heat readily penetrates and the roots answer 
quickly without uncovering, which may too greatly facili- 
tate evaporation and thus be dangerous in dry localities, 
even in the rainy season. Where these conditions prevail, 
thorough cleaning, plowing, and manuring will fit the field 
for the winter. Mr. Murdock gives this advice : 

"In the fall or early winter, when the tops have turned 
brown, the ground should be cleaned and all rubbish 
burned, for if delayed the seed will drop and get scattered, 
which will come up and may prove eventually to be the 
worst weed the grower will have to contend with, for if 
allowed to grow after once started it will soon fill the 
whole ground with a mass of roots, and very soon spoil 
the patch. As soon as the ground is cleaned the whole 
field should be well cultivated, and coarse manure spread 
over the entire surface, so that the rains can dissolve and 
carry down the soluble plant food to the roots. As the 
period of rest here in our mild and warm winters is very 
short, with this strong and persisting plant no delay 
should be indulged in in furnishing the necessary plant 
food." 



HARVESTING ASPARAGUS. 185 

Quite free use of common salt is desirable for asparagus, 
providing the land is not naturally saline, as is the case in 
some regions where it is largely grown. Cheap, refuse 
salt answers w^ell, and in garden practice the use of any 
old brine from the pickle or pork barrel. 

The surface application of all manures at the begin- 
ning of the rainy season seems best to suit California con- 
ditions. 

Harvesting. — Growers agree in advising very little, if 
any, cutting the second year in the field. The third season 
should be very productive if the plants have been gener- 
ously treated, and thence onward independently, if the 
strength of the soil can be kept up. Mr. Murdock's sug- 
gestion on policies in cutting are as follows : 

"Cut all the shoots clean at each cutting during the 
season, whether they are large enough to use or not, for 
if parts of stalks are allowed to grow they will prevent 
other buds from throwing up stalks, and make the season's 
cutting short. Keep the ground well cleaned during the 
harvesting period, and if you have been liberal with your 
fertilizers and have kept your ground moist, your crop 
will last as long as a profitable demand is likely to exist. 
Yet, beware of prolonging the harveting period too late, 
so as to weaken the next year's crop, as the nature of the 
crop requires that, to reproduce annually its crop of 
shoots, something must be left to grow so as to foster the 
formation of new shoots and a new set of buds. If your 
season commences early you should lay by the knife later 
on to correspond; then let all the tops grow and do not 
cull out the large shoots afterward. The time that should 
elapse between cuttings varies in different soils, some 
being warmer and consequently quicker than others ; then 
again, much depends on the weather ; some years we will 
have warm days in February, which will necessitate cut- 
ting twice each week, and it may be followed by cold days 
in March, when the cuttings will be meager once a week ; 
and again in the warm days of May it may require three 



186 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

cuttings per week to i)reveiit the heads from bursting, 
which spoils it for nicarket. ' ' 

There is variation in the demand for color in the pro- 
duct. The local demand calls for a certain amount of 
green ; the canning demand is for white. To produce 
good, tender, white asparagus it is necessary to cover 
deeply and blanch the shoots by continued growth through 
a thicker layer of loose earth, as has been described. 

Comparatively little asparagus is bunched in California, 
the bulk of it being marketed in large boxes as loose stalks 
which are both wholesaled and retailed by the pound. 
For distance shipments the boxes are marked so that the 
stems stand on their ends just as they grow, for they are 
apt to bend out of shape if lying on the sides. For near 
marketing in the height of the season the asparagus is 
usually delivered in open boxes holding forty pounds or 
more. Where bunching is desirable, it can be neatly done 
by putting the stalks point downward in a teacup, tying 
the bunch, and then squaring off the butts with a sharp 
knife. 

The asparagus season in California extends from Janu- 
ary until June ; although later cutting is sometimes prac- 
ticed, it is not, as stated, for the good of the plants. 

The Asparagus Rust. — The disease made a vigorous at- 
tack upon California asparagus fields about five years ago. 
A careful study of the disease and experimentation con- 
ducted by Prof. R. E. Smith demonstrated that the trouble 
can be controlled by proper use of sulphur for the pro- 
tection of the top growth after the cutting season. Full 
information can be had from the University Experiment 
Station at Berkeley. 

VARIETIES CHIEFLY GROWN IN CALIFORNIA. 

Conover's Colossal: an old standard variety; large ten- 
der stalks of good flavor. Largely grown for the can- 
neries, which use it almost to the exclusion of other sorts. 

Palmetto: widely grown in California; claimed to be 
earlier than Conover's, also more productive and uniform 



VARIETIES OP ASPARAGUS. 187 

ill size ; quality fine ; especially favored for fresh sliipmeuts 
from southern California. 

Barr's Mammoth: a famous Philadelphia variety; very 
larg-e shoots of uniform thickness; lig'ht color and few 
scales; crisp, early and fine. Very highly approved in 
Orange county. 

Columbian Mammoth ; largely used by market growers, 
large, white, handsome, holding color well ; very produc- 
tive. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
BEANS. 

The Broad Bean. — Vicia faha. 

French, f eve ; German, garten-bohnen ; Flemish, platte- 
boon ; Dutch, tuin boonen ; Danish, valske bonner ; Italian, 
fava ; Spanish, haba ; Portnguese, fava. 

The Kidney Bean. — Phaseolus vulgaris. 

French, haricot ; German, bohne ; Flemish and Dutch, 
boon; Danish, havebonnen ; Italian, faginolo ; Spanish, 
frijole; Portuguese, feijao. 

The Scarlet Runner Bean. — Phaseolus multlflorus. 

French, haricots d'Espagne; German, Arabisehe bohne; 
Dutch, Tursehe boon; Italian, fagiuolo di Spagna. 

The Lima Bean. — Phaseolus lunatus. 

French, haricots de Lima ; German, breitshottige Lima 
bohne ; Italian, fagiuolo di Lima ; Spanish, judia de Lima. 

The Black-eyed Bean. — Vigna sinensis. 

A cow pea. 

The Soy Bean. — Glycine hispida. 

Of the vast numbers of bean varieties known to horti- 
culture, California grows but very few. Market gardeners 
of different nationalities, ministering to their compatriots 
among our citizens, have brought to California many va- 
rieties which they esteemed in their old homes and grow 
them here in limited quantities, but the general markets 
and the gardens and fields of Americans can show but few 
sorts. This is due in part to the indisposition of the people 
to try culinary experiments and in part to the fact that 
some varieties have shown peculiar climatic adaptations 
and are therefore better from a grower's point of view. 
But though few varieties are grown, some of them are 
grown on a very large scale — to such an extent, in fact, 



FIELD CULTURE OF BEANS. 189 

that five counties on our southern coast win for California 
the distinction of being the greatest Lima bean producing 
country of the world. The California bean product in 
1909 was about two and one-half million sacks, of which 
about one-half were Limas. 

The capacity of California for production of beans is 
apparently limited only by the extent to which the pro- 
duce can be profitably sold. Whenever there is a falling 
off in local production of the common varieties east of the 
Rocky Mountains, California shipments are freely made, 
and when, many years ago, there was a train-load sold for 
Boston, California embraced not only the profit thereof, 
but the proud satisfaction that she was really doing some- 
thing worth while for the maintenance of the intellectual 
standard of the country. 

FIELD CULTURE OF BEANS IN CALIFORNIA. 

Though California has great bean producing capacity, 
the area well suited to the product is comparatively lim- 
ited and only a fraction of that has conditions which favor 
the Lima bean as a field crop. Making deductions from 
years of local experience it may be stated that the summer 
heat and drought of the interior plains are offensive to 
most kinds of beans ; that occasional frosts preclude the 
winter growth of the crop over wide areas where ordinary 
winter temperature and moisture would favor it ; that 
summer heat and drought modified by exposure to ocean 
influences, or by influences existing on interior river-bot- 
tom lands, are acceptable to the plant and in such situa- 
tions is the chief production. From a commercial point of 
view it is also quite important that towards the end of the 
season there should be a reduction of the amount of mois- 
ture in the soil, so that the plant may cease its growth and 
mature its seed before the fall rains make the harvesting 
difficult and stain the beans. Favoring conditions are thus 
seen to be quite exacting. During the growing period of 
the plant there must be : first, no frost ; second, the least 
possible duration of hot, dry winds, and a moderated at- 



190 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

mospheric aridity generally; thii-d, achMjuate moisture both 
in air and soil to maintain healthful vegetative verdure 
followed by a dry-soil-ripening period just as soon as the 
vines have filled pods enough for a paying crop. 

Local Adaptations to Bean Growing. — ^These conditions 
are prescribed for a bean crop of the dry seed. They are 
all found in eminent degree on the coast sides of three 
counties : San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, 
and these counties ten years ago produced perhaps nine- 
tenths of the commercial bean crop of the State. Of course 
extensions of the region in other counties both north and 
south along the coast have similar conditions, and have 
recently developed a large product. Favorable conditions, 
however, disappear with greater rapidity toward the in- 
terior. Each of the three counties mentioned is disposed 
on both sides of ridges of the Coast Range mountains. The 
ocean-side lands produce the beans : the interior valleys 
of the same counties, perhaps not over 15 miles away, are 
beanless. The mountain ridges exclude the ocean breeze 
and the occasional fogs and mists, and bean plants would 
perish from dry heat before a crop could be made. On 
the other hand, on the ocean side of the mountains, beans 
are planted in May, after the rains are practically over, 
and the ocean tempers heat and furnishes moisture to the 
air, so that, by conservation of soil-water by good culti- 
vation, the crop is often made without a drop of rain from 
seed to harvest. 

On the moist or irrigated lands of the interior where 
heat and atmospheric aridity are tempered by evaporation 
from large supplies of fresh water or moist soil, there are 
also conditions which suit some varieties of beans very 
well, and constantly increasing crops are made. On in- 
terior lowlands, however, there is sometimes a summer 
rising of moisture from rivers, bank-full from melting 
mountain snows or other sources, which interferes with 
proper ripening of the beans by pushing the vegetative 
growth of the plants when they should be maturing a crop 
already formed. If, then, early rains come, the bean 



PLANTING BEANS. 191 

grower is apt to be caught with his work unfinished and 
his beans stained or sprouting. However, these troubles 
are not serious enough to cause the forsaking of the crop, 
and in an occasional year of drought, when the southern 
coast counties do not get rainfall enough to make their full 
crop, the grower on the interior lowlands records a good 
profit. 

The extension of the bean area of California during the 
last decade and the relative production of the different 
regions of the several leading commercial beans are seen 
in the following, condensed from the bean report for 1909 
of Mr. J. B. Meloche of San Francisco : 

Sacramento San Joa- Central Southern 

valley, quin valley, coast. coast. Totals. 

Large White . . . 230,000 234,000 45,000 24,000 533,000 

Small Whites... 15,000 125,000 11,000 151,000 

Pink 145,000 182,000 28,000 15,000 370,000 

Bayo 60,000 26,000 86,000 

Blackeye, etc... 40,000 78,000 22,000 50,000 190,000 

Lima 1,200,000 1,200,000 

Totals 490,000 520,000 220,000 1,300,000 2,530,200 

The foregoing is the product in standard sacks of each 
kind, the w^eight of the sacks in each ease being as fol- 
lows : Large White, 92 lbs. ; Small White, 90 lbs. ; Pink, 87 
lbs. ; Bayo, 85 lbs. ; Blackeye, 80 lbs ; Lima, 75 lbs. The 
total acreage in 1909 was estimated at 130,000 acres, which 
would give an average acre-yield of about twenty sacks. 

Soil for Beans. — -A rich sandy soil, if it can be kept 
moist enough, is best suited to the growth of beans, and 
dry, hot, sandy soil is the worst, but even on sand near 
the beach, fair crops are sometimes made by the help of 
aerial moisture and coolness. The plant does not require 
a very great amount of moisture, if heat and atmospheric 
aridity are not too great, but insists upon a certain 
amount. Crops have been lost by choosing land that was 
too wet. But though a light soil seems to best suit the 
plant, it can be successfully grown on any good garden 
soil, providing good cultivation is given and the land 
kept from baking and drying out. .With adequate care in 



192 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

this regard, very good garden crops are grown even in 
adobe soil, but the commercial bean crops are grown on 
light soils because there are obvious cultural advantages 
in dealing with such soils. 

Preparation of Land for Beans. — As our chief crops of 
beans are grown without irrigation on light soils, in 
regions of moderate rainfall, the preparation of the soil 
should begin at the opening of the rainy season, so as to 
prepare the land for receiving and retaining the maxi- 
mum amount of the rain that falls. GroAvth of weeds after 
harvesting the beans should be prevented by cultivation, 
because weeds draw upon moisture and would produce 
seed for more weeds. This cultivation also opens the sur- 
face to absorb the early rains. When the soil is well 
moistened by rain, usually not later than Januar^^, a good 
plowing is given, and after that the chisel-toothed culti- 
vator and the harrow or other tool fitted to break up all 
compacting of the soil at or below the surface, are used at 
short intervals through the winter to prevent evaporation, 
and retain moisture near the surface. There is some varia- 
tion in winter practice, as some plow deeply, some turn a 
shallow furrow, and some rely wholly upon the chisel 
cultivator, which works as deep as shallow plowing. In 
all cases the end in view is the same, to bring the land to 
planting time with moisture retained and mellow to re- 
ceive the seed. 

Time of Planting.^ — Hints of this consideration have al- 
ready been given to illustrate other points. As a general 
conclusion it may be added that California experience 
clearly points to undesirability of early planting simply 
to keep abreast of the calendar. The bush beans are 
hardier than the climbers and can be safely planted earlier, 
but there is nothing to be gained in planting either in ad- 
vance of a good condition of warmth and moisture in the 
soil. Rather than trust the seed to the soil which is too 
cold or too wet, it is better to wait a little, kill the weeds 
by a shallow working, place the seed deep enough to in- 
sure its contact with moisture and then trust to the more 



A LARGE BEAN FIELD. 



193 



rapid growth of the plant to make up for the delay. This 
it will usually do, and will shoot ahead so that it will be 
of good size for cultivation by the time the weeds need 
another cutting. Just the time w^hen the proper soil con- 
ditions may be expected to arrive will differ in the differ- 
ent localities, according to local rainfall and spring tem- 
peratures, the beginning of the frost-free period, the na- 
ture of the soil, etc. As a generalization, however, it may 




TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY- ACRE BEAN FIELD, 
SALINAS VALLEY. 



be put at May 1 to May 15 on the coast, with a range of 
May 1 to June 1 for interior lowlands in the central and 
northern parts of the State — chiefly to allow most lands 
to come into planting condition. 

As to condition of soil and weather at planting Lima 
beans, it may be said that ample heat in connection with 
soil moisture is necessary to start this variety, and plant- 
ing is rushed during a warm spell to insure these condi- 



194 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

tions. A rain after planting is counted a detriment, for 
if the temperature of the soil falls too low the seed is apt 
to rot. Besides a shower means more weeds, and some 
large growers count it cheaper to plow up the field and 
replant than to clean out the weeds in the rows. Small 
growers, however, usually undertake the hoeing rather 
than sacrifice the plant if the stand is a good one. 

Manner of Planting. — All commercial crops of beans, 
whether of bush or running varieties, are grown in rows. 
The planting is done with machines of different makes 
and sizes, though usually planting from two to four rows 
at a time. Depth is determined by the character of the 
soil and the season. The bean must be placed in moist 
soil, and if the surface is light and prone to dry out 
quickly, the greater depth is given, but the bean does not 
endure as deep covering as some other large seed. In a 
moist surface an inch will do, but in very light surfaces 
two inches is better. In some cases even a little more is 
desirable. It must be remembered that a few days' 
moisture must be assured to the seed to allow it to take 
hold of the soil. 

In light soils liable to strong winds, the planter should 
run at right angles to the course of the wind, for it has 
been observed that the sand is more easily shifted when 
the wind has the lengthwise course of the drills. 

Distance is dependent upon the variety. Lima beans are 
usually placed in rows about forty inches apart, with the 
planter rigged to drop seed at an average of about ten 
inches apart, in the row. Small beans of various kinds are 
given two to two and one-half feet between the rows, and 
about four inches distance in the row. 

Cultivation. — Frequent cultivation with knife-shaped 
teeth is practiced in the best bean soils, to kill the weeds 
and loosen the surface, until the running varieties cover 
the space so that they are injured by cultivation. The 
vines then cover the ground and check evaporition and the 
crop is left to its own course. With bush varieties longer 
and deeper cultivation is desirable, at least if the ground 



THRESHING BEANS. 195 

is apt to become compact, so that the earth-mulch de- 
scribed in the chapter on cultivation is maintained. 

Gathering. — Gathering the crop cannot usually wait un- 
til all the beans have ripened, for fear of shelling out the 
earlier maturing pods of some varieties, and for fear also 
of the fall rains already mentioned. Cutting should begin 
when the grower 's judgment tells him he is about midway 
between the two dangers. The date will of course vary 
in different localities. The Lima bean has a longer grow- 
ing season, and on the south coast is liable to encounter 
serious hot spells in August or September after other 
beans are matured beyond injury. The heat shrivels the 
immature pods and lessens the crop. 

Hand pulling or cutting of the vines, or plowing out, is 
no longer practiced in large fields. A cutter operated by 
horse power is now used. Two planks are hitched side to 
side, about two feet apart. From each, on the outside, 
projects a steel blade, some two feet, fastened to the bot- 
tom of the so-called sled. Two or three horses are hitched 
to the sled, which passes comfortably between two rows 
of beans ; the blades of steel running from one to two 
inches under the surface, sloping backward, cut off the 
vines beneath the surface or loosen them so that they are 
readily gathered with pitchforks and are thrown into 
heaps. 

There are some local variations in the form of the har- 
vester, and in some cases an iron-frame cutter constructed 
on the model of a V-shaped cultivator with guiding wheel 
is used. 

The beans are allowed to be in the field in small piles for 
two to four weeks, according to the curing quality of the 
local climate, until the vines are well dried. This not only 
facilitates the opening of the pods, but saves the beans 
from staining by green leaves and the damp dust they 
gather. 

Threshing- Floors. — The early method of threshing was 
by use of the threshing floor, and it is still practiced or 
held in view to prevent excessive charges by machine 



196 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

owners. It is tedious work, requires many animals and 
exposes the beans to greater injury by early rains. A 
threshing floor is made by wetting down a circular piece 
of ground about sixty or eighty feet across, tramp it with 
horses and wagon until smooth and hard; then cover the 
floor with straw for a few days until it is dry, when it is 
ready for the beans. The first flooring of beans is put on 
deep, so the horses' hoofs do not cut the floor. Care should 
be taken all the time during the threshing not to cut the 
floor. Two or three big wagon loads of beans are placed 
in a ring on this floor during very dry, clear weather. 
Formerly horses attached to light wagons were driven 
over the beans (usually two or three teams at a time), till 
they were all shelled from the pods. The vines are then 
thrown off and more beans from the field brought on. 
This process is continued until there are many tons of 
beans on the floor under those that are being threshed out. 
After this the whole mass of chaff and beans is run 
through winnowing and screening machines and the beans 
placed in sacks of seventy-five to eighty pounds each and 
are ready for market. Of late years the teams on the floor 
are attached to disc machines instead of wagons, which 
greatly facilitates the work. 

In suitable weather tramping is a less expensive method 
than by machinery, but there is far greater danger from 
sudden storms of rain, as beans on the tramping floor are 
in the worst possible shape in wet weather. Beans in the 
field can stand an inch or two of rain without much in- 
jury, if allowed to thoroughly dry before threshing. But 
beans wet on a tramping floor while mixed with pulverized 
leaves are irreparably damaged, being stained and heated 
before it is possible to clean them. Every farmer who 
tramps out his beans should be provided with sheets of 
canvas sufficient to cover all unwinnowed or sacked beans 
liable to be left out during a shower. Tramping is a 
tedious process, but it has some advantages. It is the 
resource ever at hand to meet the exacting charges of 
machine owners. And besides, during extremely dry 



BEAN CLEANING. 197 

weather beans can be tramped well, the pods being dry 
and brittle, while the vines are still green and tough, a 
condition in which a machine cannot work in them at all. 
The energetic farmer can thus often secure a large por- 
tion of his crop before a machine could thresh them even 
if he could get it. So it will probably be many years be- 
fore tramping is entirely abandoned. 

Machine Threshing. — For many years attempts have 
been made to use modified grain threshers for separating 
beans. At first there was too great a percentage of 
cracked beans, but recently machine work has become 
more satisfactory. In the case of one grower farming 
2300 acres to beans in Ventura county, the threshing ma- 
chine used is a large "Minnesota Chief," which is 
equipped with a good engine and thirty men. The beans 
are gathered into header wagons, with beds ten feet wide 
and sixteen feet long. One side of the bed is considerably 
higher than the other, and a large and strong net is spread 
over the entire bed, fastened on one side, and into which 
the beans are forked. This is driven to the threshing ma- 
chine, where a derrick lifts up the lower side of the net 
and tumbles the contents onto a large platform, after 
which the straw and beans are fed into the machine with 
pitchforks. It requires eight header wagons to keep the 
machine busy. Fifteen hundred sacks, averaging seventy 
pounds each, or one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, 
are considered a good day's work. 

The machine-threshed beans have also to be recleaned 
before they are marketed, and are broken so much that 
they are never fit for the seed trade. Yet there is one 
great advantage with the steam thresher. The rainy season 
is approaching, and a shower is lable to fall in October 
while the threshing process is in full blast, so that any 
beans that are caught on the floors are ruined if they do 
not manage to cover them in some way, while bj^ the ma- 
chine process all beans are sacked as they are threshed. 

Bean Cleaning. — It is imperative now that beans should 
be put into good marketable condition. When prices 



198 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

were high the quality and condition of the beans did not 
materially interfere with the sales, but in times of plenty, 
the best is hardly good enough, and the most scrupulous 
attention is given as to the quality. To insure the most 
ready sale at best prices, every grower should have the 
reputation of putting his beans in the sack for sale in 
thoroughly sound and clean condition, even by hand- 
picking if necessary. A dirty lot of beans from any 
locality injures not the grower alone, but casts suspicion 
on all the product of that place. In preventing this, 
associated effort of growers has accomplished much. 

Rotation of Crops. — It has been the experience of bean 
growers hitherto that many crops of beans can be grown 
successfully on the same soil without great difference in 
the yield — that is, the land does not clearly show wear. On 
the other hand, however, a bean crop improves barley, 
potatoes or other succeeding crop. This might be expected 
from what is now known of the power of the legumes to 
fix atmospheric nitrogen by means of their roots. Our 
best bean soils are so rich naturally that they are able to 
endure a long cropping period and growers are apt to 
look upon the soil as a constant factor and wish that the 
weather could be placed in the same category. 

VARIETY FOR FIELD CULTURE. 

The Lima Bean. — The Lima is the great bean of Cali- 
fornia so far as the outside world is concerned, because 
though other beans are grown everywhere, five southern 
coast counties seem especially adapted by favoring local 
climate to the growth of this rather exacting variety, and 
the product of Limas in this region is nearly one-half of 
the total bean production of California. The variety 
grown is the old "Large Lima," well known to the trade 
and well adapted to the region, and however popular the 
dwarf Limas may become as garden varieties they do not 
promise to supplant the old sort in its stronghold. Though 
the Lima is a running bean, no support is given it in field 
culture. It is safe and comfortable reclining on the dry. 



BEANS IN CALIFORNIA. 199 

warm soil, with its verdure always freshened by the 
breezes of the Pacific, which lies in plain sight of many 
fields. Thousands of acres are thus disposed green and 
level as a meadow to the distant viewer — the scene un- 
marred by fence or other obstruction, for the fields are 
usually subject to no unwelcome intrusion except hot 
blasts of air which rarely beat back the ocean breeze and 
harm the plant. In most years without a drop of summer 
rain and held in heart by the insensible ocean vapor and 
occasionally by fog and mist, the Lima beau yields the 
grower an average of a ton to the acre of clear product, 
and sometimes does more than fifty per cent better than 
that. 

During- recent years the price of Lima beans has 
been less than formerly, but there still remains a margin, 
because production can be accomplished at less cost 
through improved methods and machinery. There is also 
an association of Lima bean growers which is assisting 
producers to secure all that the market will warrant and 
has exerted a wholesome influence. Lima bean straw is a 
very important by-product, as it sells readily for stock 
feeding- at from $2 to $5 per ton, according- to the demand 
for it in different years. 

The Small White Bean. — This is the accepted local name 
for the variety which is called the Navy bean at the East. 
The seed was brought from the State of New York as far 
back as 1852. The Small White has a polished or var- 
nished surface which prevents rapid absorption of mois- 
ture. This not only especially fits it for shipping by sea 
and gives it great keeping quality, but it enables the bean 
to hold its form through cooking processes. Large quan- 
tities are shipped to Boston, where they are used in pre- 
paring "Boston canned beans," which are sold all over 
the United States. The Small White bean is chiefly grown 
in Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. 

The Pea Bean. — This is another small white bean which 
was introduced into California early in the fifties. The 
variety has a very thin transparent skin which ndmits 



200 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

moisture readily and is apt to disintegrate in cooking. The 
Pea bean is grown along the Sacramento river and in 
Ventura county, but not in large amount. 

The Large White Bean. — This variety is also known as 
the Lady Wasliington. At the East it is rated in the trade 
as a medium bean ; it is a little larger than the Small 
White. The seed was introduced from the East in early 
times. The variety is chiefly grown in the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin river counties and in less amounts in the 
central coast counties. 

The Bayo Bean. — There are two varieties — the Bayo 
Grande and the Bayo Chico. The former is large, the lat- 
ter small ; both are brown. The seed came from Chile in 
1849. The Bayo is largely grown in the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin river regions. There is also a dark red bean 
which was brought from Chile, and usually named from 
its color. 

The Pink Bean. — This variety is sufficiently described 
by its name. It has been in California so long that its 
origin is unknown, and our best bean merchants have 
never seen it from any other source than this State. It is 
a first-class bean, and the citizens of Spanish descent pre- 
fer it to all other varieties, and it is largely grown for their 
use in San Luis Obispo county. It is chiefly grown in Sac- 
ramento river lands and is, perhaps, the most successful 
variety in the San Joaquin valley under conditions of heat 
and drought which do not suit other varieties. 

The Butter Bean.- — This is the local name for what is 
known as the "Flageolet" in France, whence the seed was 
brought to this State. It is large, white and flattish. It is 
going out of production here, as the seed is apparently 
running out, the size being only half that of 35 or 40 years 
ago. 

The Black-eye Bean. — It is thought that this variety 
came from Virginia. Its production is largely restricted 
to the Sacramento and San Joaquin river sections and 
Ventura county. This and others of the "cow pea" group 



GARDEN BEANS. 201 

are used to a certain extent to make a green growth for 
plowing under in citnis orchards. 

The Soy Bean. — This Asiatic species, which has many 
varieties, is grown to a limited amount by Chinese and 
Japanese on river bottom and reclaimed lands, both for 
forage and food. 

The Horse Bean. — A broad bean, chiefly grown by Por- 
tuguese in the San Francisco Bay region : hardy and pro- 
lific, making free winter growth where frosts are light; 
sometimes in demand for the debasement of coffee. 

GARDEN CULTURE OF BEANS. 

Much that has been said about the field growth of beans 
applies to the garden culture. Condition of soil and, time 
for planting are practically the same, and so are the char- 
acters of the growing season, except that the gardener 
cares little for the maturing of his crop, but prefers a 
green succession. A condition of late summer moisture, 
then, that would be a serious trouble in the field, is an ad- 
vantage in the garden. For a product of beans as a green 
vegetable, the drying out which promotes maturity is to 
be prevented, and if this is successfully done, either upon 
naturally moist or irrigated land, the bean plants will con- 
tinue their yield of green pods until frost cuts them down. 
As California has, as a rule, a very long frostless season, 
the bearing season of green pluckings may cover several 
months. 

In frostless places, or in places of light frosts, where the 
grower affords slight protective covering, the bean con- 
tinues its growth and bearing into, the winter and vines of 
some varieties assert their perennial character. Even 
Avhere the frosts cut down the top, some of the phaseolus 
varieties maintain their life and start again freely from 
the old roots when the spring warmth invites activity. 

The continued growth of the bean late in the fall, in the 
absence of frost, cometimes affords a better late than early 
crop, because certain insects which destroy the early 
blossoms cease from their labors, or because too high heat 



202 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

lU) lonjier blij.;hts the l)l()()in. It, is often the reward of the 
amateur gardener, Avho promotes late growth of his bean 
plants by continued irrigation, to gather ample supplies 
of tender pods when less diligent growers have none. Mid- 
summer bean planting on moist interior lands is also a 
good practice, as it gives the plant a growing season in the 
fall when the hot and dry summer conditions are relaxed. 

The planting of beans in frostless situations in the fall 
for a winter crop is, of course, a limited enterprise, and 
attended by considerable risk, because never having a 
frost, means hardly ever, and yet good returns are often 
made in a few places already designated in the chapters 
on climates and the planting season. 

The winter preparation for field planting on the light 
soils that are mainly used for that purpose will do for the 
same soils and situations for garden growth, but where 
beans have to go upon rather heavier soil in regions of 
heavier rains, it is necessary to give more thorough 
spring cultivation to overcome the compacting of the soil 
by the rain, and make it suitably mellow for the crop. For 
this purpose, spring plowing twice, the second shallower 
than the first, and good harrowing following the second 
plowing, are desirable. All this work should be done when 
the soil works freely, and only then. 

In rainfall garden practice, where moisture is short, the 
land should lie in shape for taking in water all during the 
earlier part of the rainy season, and not be cropped nor 
left hard for the spring working, but where moisture is 
ample, the land may carry first a fall-planted crop of 
hardy vegetables for winter use, provided this crop is 
cleared away by February and the land put into condi- 
tion to store up the spring rains for the use of the beans. 
This practice depends upon the likelihood of the late rains 
being generous, and the soil being retentive enough. 

Bush Beans. — Varieties of this class are hardier than 
most climbing beans and are safely planted earlier — per- 
haps from one to two weeks usually, but they should not 
be planted until the soil becomes warm and loses its ex- 



GARDEN BEAN VARIETIES. 203 

cess of water. For hand-hoeing the rows can be 15 to 18 
inches apart, and for horse cultivation two feet. About 
four inches apart in the drill, and covered from one to two 
inches, according to soil and season, is ordinary practice. 
The plants can also be grown in hills. If the ground is in 
good condition the seed can be planted before the lighter 
frosts of spring are all over, and by slight covering they 
can be carried through. The bush varieties will endure 
more cold and more heat than the climbing sorts, but any 
considerable planting should wait until the frost danger 
for the locality is over. Later plantings should be made 
at short intervals, for succession and irrigation must usu- 
ally be resorted to quite early in the summer, except on 
moist land or on the immediate coast. 

Bush beans are usually divided into two grouj)s : those 
with green pods and those with waxen, or light yellow 
pods. The following are favorites in this State : 

Early Mohawk, hardy and early for early chop, large 
flattish pods. 

Dwarf Horticultural, vigorous grower, large leaves ; 
pods medium, curved ; beans, pale pink marked with red. 

Burpee's Stringless, green pod, early, straight, roundish 
pod, brittle and stringless. 

Extra Early Valentine, said to be fit to gather in 35 to 
40 days from planting, green pod, medium sized, fleshy, 
keeps green longer than most kinds — a favorite in the 
Sacramento valley and popular for canning. 

Extra Early Refugee, popular with early vegetable ship- 
pers, round pods, bright green, very productive, largely 
grown in Vacaville and other early regions. 

Long Yellow Six Weeks, pods long, early, very produc- 
tive, excellent quality ; popular in southern California. 

Golden Wax, early, strong grower, long pods, very brit- 
tle and stringless, popular in the Sacramento valley, coast 
valleys and southern California. 

Davis White Wax, broad pods, clear light yellow, pro- 
ductive, tender and delicate flavor. 

Warden's Kidney Wax, long, flat and showy tender 



204 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

pods, strong grower, prolific : beans shapely, pure white, 
with purple eye ; early. 

Prolific Black Wax, long and large pods, golden color, 
very productive, bearing early and through a long season. 

Burpee's Bush Lima, reported by California growers as 
the best of the dwarf Limas. 

Broad Beans. — These beans are related to the so-called 
horse bean, but by breeding have lost much of the strong 
flavor of the horse bean, and have so increased in size of 
the seed that they are several times larger than the horse 
bean. In Europe they are esteemed as a highly nutritious 
and palatable vegetable. The seeds only are eaten and are 
prepared for table in much the same manner as Lima 
beans. As Lima beans are more delicate in flavor and 
nearly always available in California markets there is less 
chance for broad beans than elsewhere, and yet the fact 
that they are more easily grown gives them claim to at- 
tention. The plants are productive and will flourish in 
almost any locality. The seed should be planted about 
three inches deep in double rows, eight inches between the 
rows forming the double line, four inches between the 
plants in the rows, and three feet between the double 
rows. The early formation of seed can be hastened by re- 
moving the terminal bud of the plants when they have 
reached the height of between four and five feet, and have 
(jroduced enough flowers to insure a good crop of pods. 
The Green Windsor is the best known broad bean. 

Climbing Beans. — Pole beans are usually more sus- 
ceptible to heat and drought than the better bush varie- 
ties, and they are disappointing in other ways. Near the 
coast, however, they may be grown and trained in any 
way the grower pleases, from a six-foot staff to a w^hole 
wigwam of poles and strings. Catalogues of California 
seedsmen give the amateur good collections to select from. 

Transplanted Beans. — Beans may be easily grown early 
in moist sand in a protected place and set out when sev- 
eral inches high when the soil and air are fit to receive 
them. The best way to get a good start in a family garden 



GARDEN BEAN VARIETIES. 205 

is the method of Mr. Adams, described in the chapter on 
propagation by which a whole hill is moved from under 
cover to open ground at one operation. 

Growing- Beans in the Irrigated Garden. — Beans may be 
irrigated in any of the ways described for garden practice, 
according to the character of the soil. They will stand 
flooding of the ground, if it is done at sundown. They will 
also grow well on the ridge systems, either with water 
above or below, according to the soil. Shallow planting- 
should be done when the ground is to be kept moist by 
irrigation. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE BEET. 

The Beet.^Befa vulgaris. 

French, betterave ; German, riinkelnibe; Dutch and 
Flemish, betwortel ; Danish, rodbede ; Italian, barbabie- 
tola ; Spanish, remolacha ; Portuguese, betarava. 

The beet as a garden vegetable is taken from the ground 
every day in the year in California. It can be sown at 
almost any time, and at all stages of its growth is un- 
injured by any temperature which is experienced in Cali- 
fornia valleys. Moisture conditions do, however, affect its 
growth. It is unwise to sow the seed in cold, wet ground, 
but if the seedling has taken hold it can endure extremes 
of saturation or drought for a long period, and it is not 
injured for any purpose by standing where it has grown 
for a considerable time after it has reached its first ma- 
turity. The beet is counted, however, rather a coarse 
vegetable, and would be consigned to rather a lowly place 
did not its present achievements and its greater promise 
as a source of sugar give it commanding importance. 
Though our people are somewhat chary about putting the 
boiled beet-root in their table china, they do not hesitate 
to instal in cut glass or silver bowls the solid extract of 
beet-root in the form of sugar cubes or granules. The in- 
dustrial importance of the beet includes also its value ajul 
availability as an auxiliary cattle food, and it is all the 
more esteemed for that purpose because in our climate it 
needs no root-cellar or even earth-covering, but is pulled 
all days of the year, fresh and succulent, from the site in 
which the seed was cast months before. 

THE GARDEN BEET. 

Though, as stated, the beet is hardy under all our con- 



GARDEN BEETS. 207 

ditions, it needs for the proper germination of its seed 
moist, warm ground, and it makes rapid and tender 
growth with the same soil conditions. In cold, wet soil or 
in hot, dry land, it will grow slowly and will be tough and 
of inferior flavor. Though it is true that beets will endure 
much drought, growing slowly and rooting deeply on land 
where grain and hay would fall and subsequently, with 
the coming of the fall rains, assume more active growth 
and reach large size for the winter feeding of stock, it is 
not in that way that tender and sound-tlavored table beets 
can be produced. They should make rapid growth from 
start to finish, and then they may remain in their places 
for some time without notable loss of quality, unless the 
ground is heavy, becomes saturated and retains water. In 
fact, some growers on well-cultivated upland loams claim 
that the beets improve in the soil and are sweetest and 
tenderest just before sending up their seed stalks. In lo- 
calities with excessive rains, it is often desirable to gather 
beets and pack them away in dry sand, but in most places 
open air winter conditions do not make this necessary. 
On the other hand, as the seed may be almost continuously 
planted if moisture conditions are arranged, small plant- 
ing for several successions should be the rule in the family 
or sale garden, if long use from one planting shows de- 
terioration. 

Garden Culture. — Beets may be grown in the hand-hoed 
garden in rows 12 inches apart, or even nearer than that 
if space is precious, but rows for horse work should be 18 
inches or two feet, according as may be necessary to agree 
with the unit of distance chosen to bring the rows of up- 
right growers uniform distances apart for ease of culti- 
vation. The small varieties popular in this State do not 
need that distance, perhaps, but all sorts of spacing is 
grievous in the use of horse tools. 

The soil for beets should be well worked to allow natural 
penetration, for the beet has a taproot of great importance 
in its development. The seed may be soaked before plant- 
ing if the groiuid is inclined to be dry, and should be cov- 



208 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ered from three-quarters of r.n inch to two inehes, accord- 
ing as the soil is heavy and moist or lipht and dry. In hite 
planting the seed must go down to moisture, and there is 
then little danger of rain compacting the covering. As 
for time of planting, it may l)e done any time when the 
soil is moist and warm, but never when it is cold or wet. 
Seed may be spaced an inch in the drill approximately, but 
while still small the plants should be thinned to six or 
eight inches. The sooner this is done after the plants have 
reached a height of three or fonr inches the better. It is 
quite a common practice to allow the rows to grow thickly 
nntil the thinnings are large enough for greens. The prac- 
tice injures the surviving beets, for they never reach quite 
the development they would if they had never been 
crowded, but with some the gain of the greens is a com- 
pensation. 

Varieties. — The garden beets popular in California for 
table use are all of the round or flat shapes, and all of red 
color. 

The Eclipse, an old favorite, is still of wude popularity. 
It is early and of good quality, and symmetrical, round 
form. 

The Extra Early Egyptian is of flat, turnip shape, very 
deep color, early, tender and fine. 

Morse's Improved Blood Turnip, especially selected for 
style and quality, deep red, green tops. 

Crosby's Egyptian, of flatter form than Early Egyptian, 
good for early use, but maintains tenderness well as it gets 
larger size, very bright clear red flesh. 

Edmunds' Blood Turnip is another favorite market va- 
riety, round and smooth, deep color and good quality. 

Early Blood Turnip is also largely grown. It is round, 
good form and quality. 

Long Smooth Blood is an old standard variety for those 
who like beets for slicing. It roots deeply and stands 
drought well. 



GROWING SUGAR BEETS. 209 

THE SUGAR BEET IN CALIFORNIA. 

All that has been said in preceding chapters on Cali- 
fornia climates and soils has direct reference to the ex- 
ceptional adaptation of the State to the growth of the 
sugar beet and the manufacture of beet sugar. The vast 
area of rich, deep, loamy and easily-worked soils, which 
afford the plant deep rooting, free expansion and large 
yield of rich beets ; the equable climate, which insures 
ample sun-action, freedom from low temperature, and an 
almost continuous growing season through the year for a 
hardy plant like the beet, and thus provides for sugar 
factories a maximum working season without protection 
of the rich, raw material from freezing — these are local 
advantages for beet growing and sugar making, the im- 
portance of which it is difficult to overestimate. There 
are also many incidental advantages and benefits in 
ground which does not freeze and in factories where the 
absence of freezing temperature makes it unnecessary to 
build for protection of men, materials and machinery, ex- 
cept from heat and rain. 

Nine California beet sugar factories produced, in 1908, 
99,613 tons of sugar, a total value, at 3i/2C. per pound, of 
$7,460,975. Two others were constructed in 1909, and the 
aggregate producing capacity of the 11 will exceed 150,- 
000 tons. Large as this quantity is, it is small compared 
with the possible production in California, as it is esti- 
mated that there are 750,000 acres well adapted to the 
raising of sugar beets. Allowing for proper rotation of 
crops, about 200,000 acres would be available each year — 
capable of producing 2,500,000 tons of beets and 350,000 
tons of sugar. The annual consumption of sugar in the 
United States is about 3,500,000 tons. Comparative sta- 
tistics show that the proportion of saccharine is greater in 
the beets grown in California than in any other locality, 
whether in Europe or America. The plant itself becomes 
a more active worker and extracts more sugar from Cali- 
fornia soil and sunshine than it does elsewhere. 



210 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

California is second to Colorado in the production of 
beet sugar, but the largest factory in the United States, 
and one of the largest in the world, is the one at Spreckels, 
Cal., which is able to slice 3000 tons of beets in a day, or 
lOO carloads of 30 tons each. The oldest successful factory 
in the United States is at Alvarado, Cal., which was estab- 
lished in 1879, and has made sugar every year but one 
since its beginning. 

Situations and Soils. — The large area noted as adapted 
to sugar beet production is obtained by computation of 
our valley acreage. For the most economical production 
of uniformly good beets, fairly level fields are of great ad- 
vantage. To get the largest profits there must be the use 
of the most capacious planting, cultivating and harvesting 
appliances, and all these are best suited to level or gently 
sloping lands. As most of these lands, except in coast 
valleys, lie in regions of moderate rainfall there is seldom 
the need of underdrainage, but the problem is rather one 
of moisture conservation, and that is in most cases easily 
accomplished by cultivation, to the extent required by the 
beet which roots deeply and draws its moisture from a 
large soil volume. "Where it may be necessary to concen- 
trate the rainfall of two seasons for one crop, the method 
of a constantly stirred summer fallow, which insures a 
crop of grain in spite of low rainfall, will do the same for 
a crop of beets, providing the relatively deeper cultiva- 
tion required by the beet is given. 

Though nearly all fertile soils will grow good sugar 
beets if well tilled for moisture retention and for root 
penetration and expansion, a rich, sandy loam, deeply 
worked and with medium moisture conditions, is the ideal 
for the purpose. Sandy soils, which dry out in spite of 
cultivation, are available for beet growing by careful irri- 
gation. Heavy, wet soils may be put into condition by 
underdrainage and cultivation, but as there are such vast 
areas of soils which will suit the beet without either irri- 
gation or drainage, it is probable that improvements in 
these lines will be left for the future. 



212 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Tillage for Beets.^ — Land for beets should be taken in 
hand early. If it has not been summer fallowed the pre- 
vious summer, it may receive a shallow plowing early in 
the fall, being left rough to receive the rainfall. As soon 
as the heaviest and coldest rains of the season are over in 
the locality a deep plowing should be given, so as to secure 
a seed bed of ten or twelve inches depth of stirred soil. 
This practice is best for coast valleys, where spring rains 
after the plowing are likely to be sufficient to restore to 
the soil a proper degree of compactness. In light, open 
soils, with scant spring rains, the first jilowing should be 
deep and the second shallow for fear of leaving the lower 
strata too open. It is often good practice to rely upon one 
good plowing early in the winter, followed by the use of 
the chisel cultivator, harrow and clod-crusher, to bring 
the surface into fine mellow condition to receive the seed. 
Modification of methods must be made according to local 
soil and rainfall, but the condition to be aimed at is deep 
stirring, lower strata, moist but not wet, surface fine and 
moisture near it, but not disposed to bake or crust with 
rains, which may follow sowing. 

Planting. — Sugar beets are grown in drills about 18 to 
20 inches apart. Seeding is done with machines. Cover- 
ing should be as shallow as will bring the seed into soil, 
which will remain moist; depth depends upon earliness of 
sowing, character of soil, as already explained in other 
connections. Sometimes it is desirable to cover as deeply 
as two inches; sometimes, and usually, perhaps, one inch 
or a little less. In late sowings, when the surface has be- 
come quite dry, an attachment to the drill which pushes 
aside part of the dry surface and brings the seed into moist 
soil without running too deep, has been found valuable. 
The greatest care should be taken to have the rows 
straight. Possibly most beets are grown in crooked rows, 
as it has long been said of corn, but the whole after course 
of the field is improved by running the drill straight. It 
is desirable to have a rain just after planting, unless the 



GROWING SUGAR BEETS. 



213 



land is very light and dry. If crust forms it must be 
broken by light harrowing or rolling. 

Cultivation. — Weeds should never be allowed to get the 
start of the young beets ; nor should the soil be allowed to 
lock them in a hard surface. For this reason cultivation 
should begin as soon as the rows can be seen. Very 




SUGAR BEETS IRRIGATED FOUR TIMES IN FURROWS. 



effective cultivators, or horse-hoes, have been designed by 
California mechanics, which make is possible to work two 
or four rows at once if the beets are in straight equi-dis- 
tant rows. This cultivation beginning thus early, must be 
continued at frequent intervals, for the reasons already 
fully given in the chapter on cultivation. Cultivation is 
absolutely essential to a good beet ; not only must moisture 
be conserved, but the lower strata must be kept reason- 



214 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ably loose so that the soil may be displaced by the ex- 
pandinj^ beet-root. This is done not by deep summer cul- 
tivation, but by keeping a good surface mulch to prevent 
evaporation, and the lower soil vv^ill keep itself in good 
condition. All flattened, or knotty, or gnarly beets show 
that there has been slackness, either in proper depth, in 
preparation of the ground, or in lack of cultivation after- 
ward, permitting deep drying out. Beets which show 
signs of distress will be discarded or discounted at the 
factory. The beet must be symmetrical, smooth and fine — 
all of which are signs of thrift in a beet as they are in a 
well-bred animal. 

Thinning. — Excellence in beets is also dependent upon 
each having adequate soil-room and plant food. It is im- 
possible to get proper spacing by any scheme of seed drop- 
ping. It is necessary to sow too thickly in order to get a 
uniform stand; the spacing of the beets must be done 
afterward. By using a narrow hoe crosswise to the rows, 
the plants can be quickly thinned to clumps or groups, 
from which all but the strongest plant are pulled by hand. 
Thinning should be begun when the seedlings are small — 
say from two to four leaves. It is easier to do it well at 
this stage, and it is vastly better for the beets which are 
to stand, for it does not displace the soil nor disturb their 
rooting, as when it is done too late. Beets should stand 
eight to ten inches apart in the row, according to the 
soil. Where the soil is very rich and the beets likely to 
overgrow the two-pound average, which is most accept- 
able to the factory, they should be allowed to stand nearer 
in the row. After thinning, the surface cultivation must 
proceed for weed cutting and surface loosening until the 
beet leaves cover the ground. The field is then laid by 
until harvesting. 

Harvesting. — As the outer leaves of the beet turn yel- 
low and drop to the ground, maturity arrives. It is usual 
for the factory to notify the grower when his crop is ready. 
The beet can stand long in the soil without losing sugar 
percentage, but the factory cannot use all the beets at the 



THE BEET SEASON. 



215 



moment of their readiness, and therefore some growers 
have to wait for delivery until the opening of the rainy 
season, and that is not pleasant or profitable. It is de- 
sirable, therefore, that seeding should be done at different 
times, as each kind of land in the locality comes into con- 
dition, and thus prolong both the harvesting season and 
the factory season. 

Beet harvesting is now done cheaply by means of imple- 
ments and machines of California design and construction, 




FURROW IRRIGATION OF SUGAR BKFTS IN THF 
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. 



which either loosen or completely dislodge the beet. Top- 
ping, or removing the leaves and all the green part of the 
root grown, is done with knives, though inventors have 
made some promising progress in machines for this work. 
The Beet Season. — As already said, the beet is an all 
the year plant in California. Planting may be done when- 
ever the local soil and moisture conditions warrant. Some 
planting is done as early as February in regions of light 
rains, and the sugar factory season opens in southern Cali- 



216 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

fornia in July. In regions of heavier rains planting is 
done in April and May. In all regions there is consider- 
able length to the sowing season, so that succession in 
ripening is possible, where there are lands of different 
elevations and degree of moisture. It seems possible to 
keep the factories in operation near the whole year with- 
out great storage of beets, but this has not been done 
so far. 

Yield and Profit. — Taking into his calculation the figures 
for a number of years, Dr. G. W. Shaw of the University 
of California has shown that "on a total of 326,000 acres 
there has been an average production of 9.8 tons of beets 
per acre annually, giving an average return of over $44 
per acre, or a net profit of about $14 per acre (after charg- 
ing the value of the labor), which certainly compares 
favorably with other field crops grown in the State. A 
like number of acres devoted to wheat and most other 
agricultural crops for the same period would have pro- 
duced a decidedly less return per acre, if average price 
and yield per acre be taken as the basis. 

The figures cannot be taken as the entire value, for there 
should be included the better condition in which the land 
is left for the growth of other crops, provided the beet 
crop is properly handled by returning the tops to the field 
either by plowing under or feeding them and returning 
the manure to the field. This, of course, is difficult to ex- 
press in money value. 

"To maintain California's high producing power atten- 
tion must be given to the matter of irrigation ; it is the 
only way in which the fickleness of climate can be over- 
come. Given climate, and the farmer is largely inde- 
pendent of the soil question when rational methods of cul- 
ture are observed. When the season's returns per acre to 
the farmer are considered, Utah, with $51.55, is the only 
State Avhich exceeds California with $49.94, but it has 
probably cost Utah growers that much more to irrigate 
their land ; this extra cost, however, being well spent in 
order to make sure of a crop, a condition which is de- 



CALIFORNIA STOCK BEETS. 217 

voutly to be wished for in California. Given a favorable 
season, and there is probably not a State that can surpass 
California (even if any can equal her) in the number of 
tons of high-grade beets that can be produced per acre." 

Beet Pulp for Stock Feed. — The use of beet pulp for 
stock feeding has increased rapidly during the last few 
years, and promises soon to be as popular here as in Eu- 
rope. It is fed fresh and put down in silos. It is very 
cheaply siloed, because it packs down readily and it seals 
itself from contact with the air by the formation of a sur- 
face crust. Special information on the use in California 
of beet wastes for stock is found in recent publications.* 

Varieties. — Thus far California has relied upon Euro- 
pean beet seed. We have not yet brought into practice 
here the exact methods of testing and selecting the 
"mother beets" for seed production which are practiced 
in Germany and France. By this means the sugar-contents 
have been increased and shape, thrift and other characters 
of the beet have been advanced. It is possible that Cali- 
fornia will in due time develop local seed supplies of the 
highest quality, but no notable progress has yet been made 
in that line. Of the varieties chiefly used at the present 
time by the California sugar factories the best information 
can be had from the managers, who furnish to growers 
the seed which in their experience yields the best results, 
and their contracts are conditioned upon the use of the 
seed they furnish. 

BEETS AS FOOD FOR STOCK. 

All that has been said about the fitness of California 
soils and climates to the growth of the sugar beet is also 
applicable to the growth of beets for stock food. Early 
plantings of beets furnish succulent food when the pastures 
yield but ' ' dry feed, ' ' which is the local name for grasses 
and clovers which make rich hay as they stand in the field. 

*Pacific Rural Press, Aug. 21, and Sept. 11, 1909: Report No. 
90, "Progress of the Beet Sugar Industry in the United States," 
by C. F. Saylor, U. S. Dept. of Agr., Washington, D. C, 1909. 



218 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Tlioiiiili this food is very iiutfitious, it is better fitted for 
fattening purposes than for maintaining the milk-flow, and 
for this reason it should be supplemented by succulent 
food. By later planting of beets good supplies can be pro- 
vided for the deficiency of pasture growth early in the 
winter, which occurs when the winter happens to be colder 
or drier than usual. Thus, by planting from February 
until June, or even later on moist bottom or irrigated land, 
the stock feeder can have beets for his animals the year 
round. 

Preparation of the land is the same for stock beets as for 
sugar beets. The plants must have wider spacing, both 
for the rows and for individual plants, according to the 
size of the variety grown. The long red rnangel-wurzel, 
which frequently reaches a weight of seventy pounds, and 
should average half that or more, needs room. Three feet 
between the rows and two feet between the plants in the 
row is as little space as should be given. 

Growers of stock beets often sprout the seed before 
planting, and sow by hand, from five to eight pounds per 
acre, in a shallow furrow, following a line set by a 
"marker," and cover with a cultivator or harrow, finally 
smoothing with a plank clod-crusher or "rubber." , 

Summer cultivation determines the character of the crop 
as it does with sugar beets, and the best cultivators secure 
almost incredible weights of beets from rich, moist soils. 
The crop often reaches twice that of sugar beets, and 
though the stock beets are inferior in nutritive contents, 
the greater crop and the greater ease with which large 
beets, growing a good part of their bulk above ground, 
are gathered and handled are held to compensate for their 
less nutritive substance. 

Varieties. — Of the many cattle beets of Europe three 
have gained wide popularity in California : the Long Red 
Mangel, the Yellow Globe Mangel, and the Golden 
Tankard. 

Long Red Mangel. — This variety is the largest and pro- 
duces the heaviest crops, and is the best generally pre- 



220 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ferred by dairymen and for hog feed, but it requires deep, 
strong soil to do well. A rich, sandy loam, a heavy black 
adobe or a yellow clay, will produce great crops of Long 
Red Mangels. 

Yellow Globe Mangel. — This is medium in size, rutabaga 
shaped, more solid and less watery, and is the best beet 
for a light, shallow soil. All root crops, as stated already, 
require a deep, moist soil, and the richer the better. But 
Yellow Globe Mangels are recommended on a light or 
gravelly soil, but in such case a liberal use should be made 
of old and well-rotted barnyard manure, well worked into 
the soil. 

Yellow Tankard Mangel. — Tliis is also called "Golden 
Tankard." It is one of the most famous English varieties. 
It is very neat and symmetrical in form — cylindrical, nar- 
rowing abrnptly at both ends. It has yellowish flesh 
throughout. It reaches large size, but can be grown more 
thickly than the Long Red. 

These yellow Mangels have gained rapidly in popularity 
during the last few years; first in southern California, and 
now in the north as well. They are better suited to cal- 
careous soils, which are very prevalent in California, and 
they endure drouth better tlian the Long Red. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
THE CABBAGE FAMILY. 

Common Cabbage. — Brassica oleracea capitata. 

French, ehoii cabus, cliou pomme ; German, kopf kohl, 
kraut; Dutch, slutkool ; Danish, hoved kaal ; Italian, cavdlo 
cappuccio ; Spanish, col repollo ; Portuguese, couve re- 
polho. 

Savoy Cabbage. — Brassica oleracea hullata. 

French, chou cle Milan ; German, Savoyerkohl ; Dutch, 
savooikool ; Italian, cavolo de Milano ; Spanish, col de 
Milan ; Portuguese, saboia. 

Brussels Sprouts. — Idem. 

French, chou de Bruxelles ; German, Briisseler sprossen- 
wirsing; Dutch, spruitkool; Danish, rosenkaal; Italian, 
cavolo a germoglio. 

Cauliflower. — Brassica oleracea hotrytis. 

French, chou-fleur ; German, blumenkohl ; Dutch, bloem- 
kool ; Italian, cavol-flore ; Spanish, coliflor ; Portuguese, 
couve-flor. 

Broccoli. — Idem. 

French, choux brocolis, chou-fleur d'hiver; German, 
spargelkohl ; Danish, asparges kaal; Italian, cavol broc- 
colo ; Spanish, broculi. 

Borecole or Kale. — Brassica oleracea acephala. 

French, chox verts ; German, winterkohl ; Dutch, boeren- 
kool ; Italian, cavolo verde ; Spanish, coles sin cogollo. 

Collards. — Idem. 

Jersey Kale, Thousand Headed Cabbage or Oregon Kale. 

Other species of brassica, grown for fleshy stems or roots, 
rather than for esculent foliage, will be classed as "tur- 
nips" in a subsequent chapter. 

California has vast capacity as a supply region for 



222 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

esculents of the cabbage family. The climate favors pro- 
duction and shipment at a time when the Eastern markets 
have only stored cabbage, and California cauliflower is 
harvested in splendid size and quality all through the win- 
ter months, so that the crop is disposed of before the East- 
ern grower can trust his small plants to the open air. 
Some years when there have been low freight rates or a 
partial failure in Eastern production, there have been very 
large shipments in direct competition with the Eastern 
grown cabbage in the early autumn, and money has been 
made in selling California cabbage, not as an early vege- 
table, but at prices which sauerkraut factories were willing 
to pay. The Eastern production has, however, been more 
intelligently carried on during recent years, and California 
producers have less opportunity in the farther East. In 
the great central region of the country, however, Cali- 
fornia vegetable shippers find a large market, and growing 
is done on a considerable scale, but the aggregate is only 
a small fraction of what the State could easily produce. 

The largest cabbage producing regions are the sandy 
loam uplands bordering San Francisco on the south, the 
lowlands of Santa Clara county, the reclaimed islands of 
the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and the valleys 
of southern California, both on the coast and in the in- 
terior. The last named are the largest producing districts 
for overland shipment, although the central parts of the 
State often export largely. About a thousand carloads 
went out of the State during the winter of 1908. 

Cabbage is produced both in large areas wholly given to 
the plant and by planting between young fruit trees, both 
in rainfall and irrigated districts. As the cabbage is very 
largely a winter crop in California, the water which it re- 
quires comes free from the clouds or at low rates from the 
irrigating ditches. The chief objection to the crop is the 
great fluctuation in value from year to year. It is hardly 
worth while at $15 per ton, and very profitable at $30 to 
$40 per ton, and the planting is large or small, according 
to the preceding year's experience in selling, and this, of 



CALIFORNIA CABBAGE GROWING. 223 

course, largely influences the price of the new crop. An 
average crop of cabbage would be, perhaps, four tons to 
the acre and the average value $20 per ton or $80 gross 
value per acre. The cost at current rates for labor would 
be about $30 per acre. 

The cabbage crop is grown for winter and spring gather- 
ing. Interior southern situations produce heads ready for 
shipping as early as February, and the shipment continues, 
including the later coast regions in southern and central 
California, until April or later. Thus California is able 
to reach the markets at the East when the storage houses 
of Eastern regions are emptied of cabbage and the sauer- 
kraut barrels run low and to receive whatever high prices 
may be available at that time of the year. 

Although the State is so well suited to produce all the 
plants of the cabbage family, the common cabbage is the 
onl.y one which is widely grown by small growers for home 
supplies. It is the hardiest of the group under neglect or 
drouth, it is true, but there is not so much difference as 
some imagine. The cauliflower has, for instance, the repu- 
tation of being hard to grow, but there is really no diffi- 
culty about it if proper effort is made, as will be described 
later. 

THE CABBAGE. 

The cabbage can be grown everywhere in Caifornia by 
selecting that season of the year which furnishes the ade- 
quate moisture and moderate temperature which best suits 
its nature. These requirements adapt it well to winter 
growth generally in California, except in the frostier 
places, and give the plant a longer season and a greater at- 
tainment in weight in regions of rich soils open to coast 
influences. It does not resent fogs and cold winds, and 
thrives directly upon the coast as well as in coast valleys. 
In the interior it reaches its best (estate on bottom lands, 
but will succeed on plains and uplands with enough mois- 
ture by irrigation to supplement the rainfall, but without 
irrigation it may be often disappointing even though it be 
started early enough. 



224 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Soil. — The cabbage does well on heavy soil, and it does 
not object to alkali — if it is not too strong. It delights in 
copious treatment with stable manures. For quick fall 
growth, for early winter maturity, such soil, if moist 
enough by rainfall or irrigation, will bring it along rapidly 
while the autumn heat is ample. For later fall planting to 
reach early spring maturity, a warmer, lighter, well-drain- 
ed soil or a raised bed will push full growth in a month or 
six weeks less time than heavy soil in a rainy region, which 
is likely to be cold and water-soaked. But the cabbage 
sometimes repays great kindness by growth to bursting or 
cracking of the head. Care should be had against over- 
growth for this reason. Cracking can be prevented by giv- 
ing heads which threaten it a pull, or a cut through the 
roots with a spade, so as to lessen its riotous living by 
partial arrest of its supplies. 

The Time to Plant. — These points on soil condition also 
suggest different times of planting in different localities, 
according to what may be reasonably anticipated in the 
way of heat and moisture. Even in the same locality there 
will also be different dates of suitability, according to the 
character of the current season. The best practice is to 
have plants available in different seed beds and to plant 
out in succession the thriftiest plants at hand at such times 
as the season may show fitness. Planting by the calendar 
is not usually intelligent practice in California, as has been 
already stated. 

Growing Plants. — It is wise in most parts of California 
to start plants in a seed bed in August or September, irri- 
gating the ground well to guard against drying out on 
land not naturally moist. In the Avarmer coast regions 
good plants can be grown at this time of the year in the 
open ground in drills eight or ten inches apart for hand- 
hoeing. In the interior, where temperature extremes are 
liable to be greater, a cold-frame, or covered seed bed, 
may be used to protect the young plants against hot, dry 
winds. In small garden practice the use of the seed box 
is often handier. Plants should be given space enough to 



GROWING CABBAGE PLANTS. 225 

grow thriftily and should be transplanted to the field when 
conditions are right for planting out in the locality. 

Plants started in September may be planted in the field 
as soon as they are strong enough, when an early winter 
crop is expected. Where this is not favored by the local 
climate, it is still advisable to have early grown plants, and 
in garden practice they can be several times transplanted 
and thus' kept small and stocky for planting out when soil 
and weather are right for it. Where the early winter is 
apt to have quite severe frosts, plants started in the fall 
in the open air can be transplanted to cold frames until 
this danger is past. 

For late winter and spring planting, plants may be 
started later, say in January, but then in some places the 
hot-bed, or other form of gentle bottom heat described in 
the chapter on propagation, is desirable. Care must, how- 
ever, always be taken not to use too high heat with cab- 
bage plants, and for usual California conditions a seed- 
bed, with the soil made light enough for good drainage, 
and with protection from cold winds as afforded by a 
fence or buildings, is usually coddling enough for cab- 
bages. If, however, the plants are grown with heat they 
should be first transplanted to a cold frame, or a protected 
bed, for hardening before they are taken to open ground. 

Preparation of Cabbage Ground. — Aside from generous 
manuring, for it is hard to make ground too rich for the 
cabbage, a good, deep working of the soil will show itself 
in the crop. For fall planting it is not desirable to give 
the surface as fine a polish as is necessary for seed sowing, 
because it will be all the more liable to puddle and crust 
with the rains. If the plant is well firmed in fine soil, it 
will take hold well and the interspaces will be more recep- 
tive if left a little open. Subsequent cultivation will fine 
it sufficiently. 

Planting Out.— Cabbages are usually grown in the field 
in rows two and a half to three feet apart, laid out with a 
marker, the plants being distanced about 15 inches in the 
rows. Planting is done with a dibble, and a man can plant 



226 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

out four to eight thousand a day, according to his expert- 
ness, if he has a boy to drop plants for him. The earth 
should be pressed firmly about the roots with the dibble. 
Planting with a trowel can be very rapidly done in this 
way. Get a new mason's trowel about six inches wide and 
12 inches long coming to a point. Cut off one or two in- 
ches of the point making it round on the grindstone. Put 
the trowel down in the soil the whole length, pull it over 
toward you, put in the plant, take out the trowel, then 
■step on the soil near the plant to make it firm. 

If the seed-bed is sandy enough and is allowed to become 
a little dry, the plants can be lifted readily without losing 
roots. Large bunches of plants when taken to the field 
should be protected from sun and wind by a wet sack, and 
dropping should not go far ahead of the planting. If the 
weather is rather dry the plant is helped to get a start in 
a new place by removing the lower, larger, leaves when 
transplanting to the field. 

Early planting in anticipation of rains may be surer to 
hold on if a little water is used in planting if the ground 
is inclined to be dry. On irrigated ground, which is given 
a good soaking before plowing for fall planting, this may 
not be necessary, but subsequent irrigation must be given 
in time if rains are delayed, for the plants must not be 
allowed to stop growing. 

Cultivation. — Cabbages must be kept well cultivated to 
reach their best estate. Early cabbages will head in two 
and a half to four months, according to weather and soil 
conditions, and size will depend much upon cultivation in 
connection with soil richness and adequate moisture. 
Hardly any plant delights more in soil stirring. Rapid 
growth during the winter also gives the plant the advant- 
age over the lice or aphis, which sap the life of unthrifty 
plants, and is worse on late-planted cabbages because of 
the dry, hot weather they are likely to encounter. 

Harvesting. — The cabbage field is usually cut over for a 
winter shipment three times in about six weeks, and if 
used for a winter crop the ground can be cleared up and 



VARIETIES OP CABBAGE. 227 

put in shape for a summer crop of corn, tomatoes, 
melons or other frost-fearing vegetables, or of beets or 
other roots which do not rebel at rather a late start. 

Cabbage for Stock Feed. — In field growth of cabbage all 
imperfect heads are nsed for cow feed and if fed right 
after milking and not in too large quantities, are said not 
to taint the milk. They should be fed in connection with 
some dry feed. Very often cabbage can be grown to ad- 
vantage especially for cow feed. Planted out in February 
or March they would be fit for use by the latter part of 
June, just about the time that the grass gets dry and cows 
want something juicy to keep up the flow of milk. In their 
use, however, care must be taken to strip them of any de- 
caying leaves, as nothing will impart a bad taste to milk 
and butter quicker than the use of decaying vegetable 
matter of any kind. On moist land late cabbages are con- 
siderably grown for poultry and can be pulled for them 
all through the dry season. 

Varieties of the Cabbage. — Of the many varieties of cab- 
bage only a few are largely grown in California. 

Early Jersey Wakefield is the earliest cabbage and is 
widely popular. It makes up in earliness for any lack in 
size. Heads pyramidal in shape having a blunted or 
rounded peak. 

Early Spring : this is the local name of a variety grown 
by market gardeners around San Francisco instead of Early 
Jersey Wakefield, as it makes a little larger head which is 
flat. 

Early Winningstadt : follows Jersey Wakefield in ma- 
turity ; upright, pointed shape ; short, thick leaf ; head 
compact, firm, and heavy. Very popular in southern Cali- 
fornia for Eastern shipment heading uniformly in the hot- 
test weather. 

All-Head Early : the earliest of the large, flat varieties 
and the largest, uniform growth and good for a long 
season. 

Mammoth Drumhead : head thick and broad, quite flat 
on top ; a standard late variety reaching the largest size. 



228 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Flat Dutch : very widely grown as a late cabbage ; head 
large, round, and solid, flat on top ; very sure header and 
good keeper. 

Holland or Danish Ball-Head : very late, not large but 
very firm and round head, stands in the field a long time ; 
popular for Eastern shipment and for winter keeping. 

Surehead : large, round, flattened heads of good texture ; 
good for shipping; a long keeper, good for a standard 
crop. 

THE SAVOY CABBAGE. 

The distinguished characteristic of the Savoy varieties 
is their crimped leaves. They are held to be somewhat 
milder in flavor than the common cabbage. Their culture 
is precisely the same as of the common cabbage. They are 
very little grown in California, but are desirable in giving 
variety to the home garden supply. The Drumhead Savoy 
is a good variety. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 

Brussels sprouts require considerably longer to reach 
maturity than the cabbage, as the little rosettes have to 
develop at the bases of the leaves after the latter are 
grown. The sprouts appear first at the lower part of the 
stem and appear later above, thus giving many cuttings 
from the same stems. The crown of leaves at the top 
should not be removed until the stem has done its work. 
In California the sprouts are taken from the stems in the 
places where they grow, as our winter does not require 
taking up the plants and storing them under protection 
for the winter ' ' sprouting. ' ' This, of course, is a great ad- 
vantage. 

The plants are quite hardy, and in most parts of Cali- 
fornia bring their crop in the winter from plants set out 
in succession during the previous spring and summer. 
They do best in the cool, summer climate of the coast. 
Wherever grown they must have abundant moisture all 
summer. The culture is the same as for cabbage, except 



CAULIFLOWER IN CALIFORNIA. 229 

as to their longer season of growth, which has been noted. 
The "Improved Half Dwarf" is the variety mostly grown. 

CAULIFLOWER. 

The cauliflower is one of the grandest vegetables in Cali- 
fornia. It attains large size and superb quality, but it is 
not universally grown, as is the cabbage, because it is 
rather more tender and exacting and more rebellious under 
neglect or deprivation. While it is perfectly simple and 
easy for a person with any joy and zeal in gardening to 
grow a grand cauliflower, the lack of these qualities will 
yield distressing failures. He may busy himself with a fair 
sort of cabbages, but his cauliflowers will point with gaunt 
fingers at him instead of nestling down in tight masses of 
snowy curds, as if to shame him for his ill-treatment of 
them. For this reason cabbages are seen everywhere and 
cauliflow^ers seldom, except in the market gardens or in 
the fields where grown for distant shipment, which is about 
half as large of cauliflowers as of cabbages. 

The growth of the cauliflower is in the main the same 
as the cabbage, except that a little higher heat and greater 
protection are needed for the young plants and a little 
more diligent cultivation and faithful attention to mosture 
supply for the later growth. The writer's observation is 
that most cases of failure with cauliflower are attributable 
to delay in starting the plants and planting out too late, 
and to insufficient or intermitten moisture supply. Sum- 
mer heading of cauliflower is difficult unless the plants are 
started in the seed beds in the winter and planted out 
early in the spring — for a spring start from the seed is 
apt to amount to little. Winter heading is surer if the 
plants are in the seed beds by June and in the ground, 
properly irrigated and worked, in August. Besides the 
error of starting at wrong times many plantings go wrong 
toward the end of their course, through lack of work and 
water on the home stretch. In the milder regions it is 
possible to start so early that less attention, perhaps, has 
to be given to watering, but where the local climate re- 



230 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

quires spring planting tiie reason for failure is generally 
to be seen in the hard, dry ground on which the plants 
strive in vain to answer the grower's expectations. 

Soil.- — Like the cabbage, the cauliflower likes good, rich 
soil and plenty of water; coarse, long manure answers the 
purpose of a fertilizer very well if the soil is heavy; if 
applied on the surface, either on light or heavy soil, it 
keeps the ground loose and the water soaks through, and 
thus the soil is always moist. 

Situation. — The cauliflower is less hardy than the cab- 
bage, and where there is a choice of situations in the gar- 
den, it should be given, for winter growing, the one which 
is warmer and more protected. It also resents heat which 
a cabbage will endure, and for summer growing will be 
benefited by partial shade. 

Growing Plants. — There is a wide difi^erence in practice 
in different regions. On irrigated ground in the foothills 
seed is sown in the open ground in June or July, by making 
the soil as fine as possible ; sow the seeds and cover with 
a slight coat of well-rotted manure ; keep well wet down. 
This prevents drying out and hardening of the ground and 
the plants come along finely. Similar practice is followed 
in regions of little frost in other parts of the State at dif- 
ferent times from July to September, for winter cutting. 
As Eastern shipments of cauliflower continue from De- 
cember through the winter, early growth of plants is 
necessary, and the fall weather is so warm that the seed- 
bed only needs a little sunshading and ample moisture. 

In colder parts of the State, as for example in small val- 
leys liable to sharp frosts, some seasons favor fall-grown 
plants, others do not, and though it is always advisable 
to have them for small plantings by those who delight in 
taking the chances on early things, January or February 
planting in a hot-bed for spring and summer growth must 
be the main practice. Hot-bed plants should be grown at 
rather a low temperature and transplanted to a cold-frame 
or other place under some cover to harden before plant- 
ing out. Young plants must not be so wet as to "damp 



GARDEN GROWNTH OF CAULIFLOWER. 231 

off," and they should not be huddled together as closely 
as cabbages may be. 

After-treatment. — Field growth of cauliflower is like 
that of cabbage, though for winter growth one must be 
sure of a little milder exposure. Planting out during the 
winter must be done with due regard to the fact that the 
cauliflower is a more tender plant, and extra care must be 
had to plant w^hen the soil is in proper condition of warmth 
and moisture. Fall planting requires due moisture and the 
assurance of it to push the plant along rapidly. 

Garden Practice. — Amateurs who have become discour- 
aged over growing cauliflower are advised to try the 
method of Mr. Ira W. Adams, of Potter valley, being sure 
they are faithful in all points before they conclude that 
this vegetable must be bought, not grown. Mr. Adams' 
experience was in a small valley where frosts are rather 
sharp and where fall planting is seldom satisfactory. 

About the middle of February throw into a snug heap 
a lot of fresh horse manure mixed with short straw and 
leaves. After standing a few days to heat, throw it over 
and let it remain a day or two ; then make it into a com- 
pact heap (on the south side of the barn), some three or 
four feet in depth and about twice the surface required 
for the seed bed. Tread it dow well. On this, place three 
or four inches of good soil made light and rich with fine, 
well-rotted manure ; some leaf mold, sand, and a very little 
ashes is a very valuable addition. Do not sift the dirt nor 
have it too fine. This seed bed must be protected from 
frost and cold rain, as well as cold days and nights, by a 
cover of glass or muslin ; muslin answers every purpose, 
is cheaper, easier handled, and does not draw the plants 
up weak and spindling, as glass often does. 

From time to time, if the weather continues cold, throw 
around the seed bed fresh horse manure sometimes to the 
depth of four feet or more, leaving only the front side ex- 
posed to the sun. The heat generated and escaping from 
this manure serves to keep the temperature around the bed 
several degrees higher than it would have otherwise been. 



232 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

When the plants are two or three inches high, transplant 
to another rich bed without any bottom heat, set the 
plants three inches apart and keep covered as little as 
possible in order to harden them. Be sure to keep both 
seed beds always well moistened (not wet), with luke- 
warm water. A little weak manure water occasionally is 
very beneficial. 

When the plants are six or seven inches high, transplant 
to open ground, on a cloudy day if possible, or just at 
night, giving each plant a cup of water. The ground 
should be prepared in the best possible manner and made 
very rich with manure thoroughly decomposed. Horse, 
cow, hog, and chicken manure mixed is good as any. Put 
the plants three feet (or nearly so) apart, to give plenty 
of room for cultivation, which should be done once a week 
at least, twice is better, and hoe them often^the more the 
better, especially early in the morning when the ground 
is wet with dew. Caulitiower must never stop growing or 
the ground get dry ; they must have an abundance of 
moisture. Run the water down the rows every night if 
the weather is pretty hot ; however, cauliflower succeeds 
best if fully matured before hot weather sets in, which 
generally comes early in June. 

When they commence to head, gather the leaves to- 
gether and tie loosely over the heads ; this greatly facili- 
tates blanching, and protects them from getting brown 
and bitter from the effects of the hot sun. They should be 
examined often, and cut while the head is close and com- 
pact, as, after the head opens, it separates into branches, 
gets coarse, tough, fibrous, strong flavored, and conse- 
quently almost if not wholly worthless. 

A cauliflower would be an ungrateful thing if it did not 
grow with Mr. Adams ' treatment. But it will grow and 
grow immensely. Fortunately, it is not necessary in all 
places to do quite so much work, or field growth for ex- 
port would languish. If the reader will discern the con- 
ditions which Mr. Adams secures he will be profited, for 
they underlie the success of the plant in all situations. 



VARIETIES OF CAULIFLOWER. 233 

Inter-Culture with Cauliflower. — Either with cabbage or 
cauliflower some inter-cropping could be done in the irri- 
gated garden if the fullest use of the space must Be made. 
In early spring planting, lettuce plants grown in a seed 
bed can be set between cauliflowers at the same time of 
setting out the plants. As soon as the lettuce is ready 
to cut, plant some variety of early beans close to the let- 
tuce, and by the time the lettuce is cut the beans are up ; 
and by this time the cauliflower is ready to cut. Pull the 
stumps as the cauliflower is cut and this gives the ground 
to the coming crop of beans. Thus three crops can be 
raised on the same ground the same season. This crop- 
ping can only be done on a summer crop of cauliflower. 
For winter cauliflower, set Hanson's lettuce between each 
plant, and in this way have early lettuce when lettuce is 
scarce. Other combinations and successions will readily 
suggest themselves. 

Varieties of Cauliflower. — Several varieties are popular 
in this State : 

Early Snowball : early and a sure header ; large, white, 
and fine ; robust, counted the best all-round early variety. 

California Wonder : this variety originated with C. C. 
Morse & Co., of San Francisco ; it comes into market soon 
after the Early Snowball, producing much larger heads, 
and of the finest quality. It has been extensively grown 
for the Eastern market. 

California Pearl of Aggeler & Musser Seed Co. of Los 
Angeles : held to be specially suited to semi-tropical cli- 
mates and for shipment because of full leaf cover of head. 

Germain's Dry Weather of Germain Seed & Plant Co. 
of Los Angeles, enduring heat and drouth better than 
other varieties: heads large as Snowball and almost as 
early ; held to be specially suited to arid regions. 

California Mammoth : of local origin, exceedingly large ; 
commended for local use only. 

Extra Early Paris : head medium size ; compact, stem 
short ; a hardy kind and rather easy to grow. 



234 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Extra Early Erfurt: very early, small leaves; solid, fine 
quality. 

"Autumn Giant: late; large, white, firm and solid; keeps 
, condition well. 

Large Algiers : fine for a late variety ; especially popular 
in southern California. 

Lenormand's Short Stemmed: large, fine and compact; 
stocky growth : heads late and protects itself well Avith 
foliage. 

Nonpareil or Half-Early Paris : a mid-season variety of 
good standing. 

BROCCOLI. 

This is another variet}^ of the same botanical species as 
the cauliflower. It is hardier and of slower growth, but is 
smaller in the head than cauliflower and counted less de- 
sirable otherwise. It is grown to a very slight extent, and 
cuts very little figure in California. It is grown in the 
same ways as the cauliflower but it takes longer to reach 
maturity. People who fail with cauliflower might make 
a trial of its poor relation which is less exacting. Two va- 
rieties are commonly grown, the white and the purple. 

Mr. Albert F. Etter of Briceland, Humboldt county, 
exalts broccoli as not only equal to cauliflower, but better 
adapted to conditions in many places in California. It is 
slower in heading, but some early varieties of broccoli 
come in near to the late cauliflowers. Broccoli should not 
be sown too early nor should it be forced along until the 
moist air of autumn comes with the rains. Then it will 
advance splendidly, and good full heads can be had from 
Christmas until February. A temperature as low as 17° 
will not hurt them much, and not at all if the leaves are 
tied up over the developing head. Broccoli will make a 
good fall and winter growth on land which is rather poor, 
if a moderate amount of manure is spread around the 
plants at the beginning of the rainy season. 

BORECOLE OR KALE. 

This term covers the non-heading cabbages, with a won- 



KALES AND COLLARDS. 235 

derfiil variety of form and foliage, and a record divided 
between use and ornament. There is a host of varieties, 
some of which are grown for the tender shoots : others for 
the foliage. The edible sorts are very little grown in 
California : those used for garnishment are frequently 
seen. The two varieties most known are the Tall Green 
Curled or Scotch and the Dwarf Curled or German Greens. 
The plants are very hardy and are winter-grown. 

TALL GROWING COLLARDS. 

The Jersey Kale or Tree Cabbage is quite widely dis- 
tributed and has won high favor as food for cows and 
poultry. It is perennial in the coast regions of the central 
and southern parts of the State, and endures defoliating 
very well. It is less thrifty in the interior heat and 
drought. 

The Oregon Kale is an old European collard, sometimes 
called Thousand Headed Cabbage. It belongs to the same 
class as Jersey Kale, but has thinner stems and is, there- 
fore, more easily handled with mowing or corn-cutting 
machinery. It was introduced in the Willamette Valley, 
Oregon, more than a third of a century ago, but only re- 
cently has its value been recognized as a winter feed for 
stock and largely groAvn. It endures local freezing and is 
hauled from the fields as needed for feeding. The plants 
are grown in field drills and transplanted in May to the 
land to be covered with it, the plants being set in every 
third furrow as the field is plowed and covered in with 
the next furrow, the ground being afterwards rolled to 
compact the dirt around the roots. Planting with a ma- 
chine on land previously plowed and harrowed is also 
practiced. Kale may also be grown in the way already 
described for field growth of cabbage except that the 
plants should be given rather more room. In California 
the plant is likely to be of value for stock feeding by fall 
planting and winter growth as well as by summer growth 
to stand for winter use as in Oregon. In fact, winter 
growth for summer feeding may also be practicable in 



236 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

California, especially near the coast. As with other mem- 
bers of the cabbage family, dairy cows should be fed kale 
just after milking to avoid risk of tainting the milk. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
THE CARROT, PARSNIP AND SALSIFY. 

Carrot. — Daucus carota. 

French, carotte ; German, mohre, gelbriibe ; Dutch, wor- 
tel; Italian, carota; Spanish, zanahoria; Portuguese, 
cenoura. 

Parsnip. — Pastinaca sativa. 

French, panais ; German, pastinake ; Dutch, pastinaak ; 
Danish, pastinak ; Italian, pastinaca ; Spanish, chirivia ; 
Portuguese, pastinaga. 

Salsify. — Tragopogong porrifolius. 

French, salsifis ; German, haferworzel ; Flemish, haver- 
wortel ; Danish, havrerod ; Italian, barba di becco ; Span- 
ish, salsifi bianco ; Portuguese, cercifi. 

The carrot is a very popular root in California, and is 
grown in all parts of the State, both for the table and for 
stock feeding. It is perfectly hardy in all temperatures 
which come to California valleys and foothills. It is 
patient during drought and proceeds quickly with its 
growth with renewed moisture, which is a very valuable 
characteristic in growing the carrot for stock feeding, but 
table carrots should not be subjected to this ordeal, but 
should be pushed with adequate moisture quickly from 
the seed to size to secure the desired tenderness and mild 
flavor. To attain the coveted weight for stock feeding, 
however, it is quite an advantage to have the rain beyond 
the dry season, as well as before it, because early sowing 
in cold, wet ground does not suit the plant and late sow- 
ing does not give the plant time enough except on irri- 
gated land, to do its best in size before the dry season 
checks its growth. By proper practice, then, it is pos- 
sible to produce great crops of carrots in the drier parts 
of the State, as well as in the moister lands and regions. 



238 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Soil and Tillage. — The requirements of the carrot so 
closely resemble that of the beet that the reader is re- 
ferred to the suggestions for culture already given for the 
beet. The carrot has the same liking for a light, warm 
soil, and the same reasons exist for a deep and thorough 
preparation of the soil ; for, though the carrot, if the seed 
is sown after the chill and surplus water have gone out of 
a heavy soil, will do very well if well cultivated, it pro- 
duces the largest and most shapely roots when it can 
deeply penetrate and easily displace the soil in its ex- 
pansion. Carrot ground should, then, receive early work- 
ing to receive the rains, and be plowed again and well 
loosened up and fined before the seed is sown. 

Sowing Carrot Seed. — It is very necessary that the soil 
should be in good condition. Sowing in the fall on irri- 
gated ground is practicable, and so is sowing immediately 
after the early fall rains have moistened the soil suffici- 
ently to prevent drying out, but if the place is quite frosty 
and the soil apt to be water-soaked, later planting is bet- 
ter. For this reason, as already stated, some prefer to 
bridge the dry season, sowing in March or even in April, 
so that the young plant may have the best conditions at 
the start. As it gets age it becomes hardier and can be 
taken from the ground in good condition and maximum 
size all during the follow^ing winter. Late sowing is also 
advocated because of the opportunity to kill weeds by 
plowing in the winter growth before seeding. This prac- 
tice is generally approved in the coast regions of the 
northern part of the State. On the other hand, in south- 
ern Califoria, and in most parts of the San Joaquin and 
Sacramento valleys, on the lighter soils especially, a start 
from the seed in December or January, when weather and 
soil favor it, gives the plant a chance to root well before 
the dry season and then it is in much better condition to 
stand heat and drought than if younger. Both practices 
are rational and each is adapted to its own set of condi- 
tions. 

Carrot seed must be fresh. It is small, rather difficult 



GROWING CARROTS. 239 

to handle evenly, and requires a shallow covering of earth. 
It is more difficult to get a good stand of carrots than of 
beets, but care will insure it with good seed. Distribution 
is facilitated by mixing the seed thoroughly with a cer- 
tain amount of moist sand, and if the mixture is kept warm 
and moist the seed may be allowed to sprout slightly be- 
fore sowing, but not too far. The seed must be placed in 
moist ground, and half an inch is covering enough except 
in light soils likely to dry down. The seed should be 
pressed down well or the soil firmly about it, and then 
lightly covered and the covering pressed slightly. 

Cultivation. — Carrots in field culture are usually grown 
in rows two to three feet apart according to the notion of 
the grower. Thinning in the row is seldom done though 
the advantage of it would be shown in better roots just as 
with beets. Growers shrink, however, from the expense 
and prefer to trust to frequent cultivation between the 
rows. 

Ridge Culture of Carrots. — Where it is desired to get 
an early start in a locality with a heavy rainfall the ridge 
system gives good results. Choose rich soil, plow after 
the first rain, and then in January or February when the 
ground gets warm (according to the season and locality) 
cross-plow and harrow until the ground is thoroughly 
pulverized. Then ridge some two or three and a half feet 
apart, rake otf the combs of the furrows, making them 
level on top and free from lumps. Put in the seed by hand 
or with a seed drill covering lightly, cultivate and thin 
out for cow-feed during the summer and the crop will be 
of good uniform size for horse-feed during the following 
winter and spring. Though this practice is still followed 
by some it has been widely superseded in field work by 
later sowing and flat culture. For an early start in the 
farm garden it has, however, some advantages. 

Harvesting. — This is done by pulling, after loosening 
with the plow. The time, as already stated, is usually dur- 
ing the winter, but feeding often commences in the fall 
and continues for several months — just as with mangels. 



240 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Field Varieties.^ — Several large, yellow and white va- 
rieties are used for stock puri)oses. The richer color and 
more convenient size of the yellow varieties, like the Long 
Orange, hold them in favor as a marketable stock carrot, 
but the large size and greater crop of the Large White 
Belgian makes it a favorite where the crop is to be fed 
at home. This variety is grown in all California dairy 
regions. It sometimes reaches a weight of 16 pounds or 
more and a yield of over 40 tons to the acre on rich, deep 
land, though half these figures would better suit average 
conditions. Half-long Giant White has the advantage of 
bulk without great depth. 

Garden Carrots. — As already stated garden carrots 
should be grown quickly with acceptable heat and mois- 
ture. Simple forcing conditions, like a bed of five or six 
inches of good loam over a foot or more of tamped man- 
ure and a slight protective covering will give very sweet 
and tender roots to the short varieties in our coldest 
weather. But so much can be done with the ridge system 
or with raised beds described in a previous chapter and 
with other simple modifications of open air conditions that 
very little forcing is done. 

Country gardeners, as a rule, do not know much about 
the best table carrots. They supply their tables and their 
stock too often from the same sowing when much sweeter 
and tenderer roots should be grown in the garden by small 
sowings of the improved table varieties. Those which are 
most grown in California are the following : 

Early French forcing carrot : very early, small, globu- 
lar form, and fine flavor. 

Ox-heart or Guerande : very short, almost cup-shaped, 
very rapid grower, early and excellent. Considerably im- 
proved recently by selection. 

Half Long Danvers : a popular market variety, strong 
grower and succeeding on a wide range of soils ; rich color 
and good flavor. 

Improved Long Orange : smoother and more uniform 
than the old sort; also better flavor and color. 



THE PARSNIP. 241 

Chantenay : short and sturdy, bright orange-scarlet, 
early. 

Improved Short White : best of the whites, short and 
cylindrical. 

Red St. Valery : one of the best of the medium long va- 
rieties. 

Early Scarlet or Short Horn : largely grown and of 
good quality. 

Champion Scarlet Horn : an English variety, rather 
large but rich in flavor and tender throughout, deep red 
color, commended for quality. 

THE PARSNIP. 

Parsnips are not largely grown in California. Two con- 
siderations may be involved in an explanation of this fact : 
one is that our winter supply of fresher vegetables re- 
lieves us from dependence upon root-boiling, which is the 
staple resource of so many dwellers in cold climates ; an- 
other is, that the parsnip, if sown early, is not always con- 
tent to remain dormant and crisp for months as it does 
beneath the snow. It quickly responds to our winter 
warmth and moisture and starts second growth, which 
renders the root woody and flavorless. It is quite possible 
for parsnip lovers in warm, moist regions to overcome this 
by mid-summer sowing or it can be prevented in other 
places by digging the roots and storing them in boxes or 
barrels of sand in a dry, cool place, and it really should be 
urged that this be done more widely, because those who 
are not fitted by location or inclination to start fall growth 
of vegetables for winter eating, should have a good sup- 
ply of parsnips, which are, to most tastes, delicious. It is 
not to be expected in this climate that the parsnip will be 
called upon to render the important service that it does 
in the East whenever the snow uncovers the ground in 
the winter or spring, because at that very time we have 
abundance of fresh vegetables hardy in our climate. 

Soil and Culture. — The excellence of the parsnip is 
vested in a well-developed root, and to secure this, rich. 



242 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

deep, and permeable soil and adequate moisture are re- 
quired. Deep cultivation and manuring will secure these 
qualities even in rather a heavy soil, but the use of ma- 
nure the previous year for another crop to be followed by 
parsnips is the proper course, for roots on freshly man- 
ured land are apt to be misshapen. Parsnip seed is light 
and should receive a shallow covering but it is necessary 
that it should be well firmed in moist soil to secure ger- 
mination. As soon as the plants are two or three inches 
high the rows should be cle aned of weeds, the plants 
spaced, and frequent use of the cultivator begun, to con- 
tinue all summer. The suggestions made for the prepara- 
tion of soil and cultivation of the beet and the carrot have 
direct application to the growth of the parsnip, and the 
reader is referred to them. In garden culture good roots 
can be grown in rows about 15 inches apart, and the plants 
thinned to half that distance in the rows to leave room for 
development. 

la the rainy parts of the State it is customary to sow 
parsnips as soon as the ground is in good condition in 
February, as the plant is quite hardy. From this date on- 
ward the seed can be successfully sown as long as tiie soil 
has moisture enough, and in moist interior lands seed can 
be sown in July, or even later, and the plants will make a 
good fall growth and be ready for winter use from the 
ground, as late sowing in a warm region with moisture 
assured, carries the plant along without danger of a check 
and a second growth. 

Varieties. — Varieties of parsnips which prevail in this 
State are as follows : 

Hollow Crown or Student : long, large, smooth roots in 
deep soils ; tender, sweet, and fine flavored when well 
grown. This is the chiefly grown variety. 

Improved Guernsey: half -long, shorter and thicker than 
the foregoing. 

Devonshire : another short variety popular with market 
gardeners in southern California. 



SALSIFY. 243 

Round or Turnip Rooted : better suited for shallow 
soils, owing to shape ; develops faster than the long type. 

SALSIFY OR VEGETABLE OYSTER. 

This delicious root stands subject to the same conditions 
which have limited the growth of parsnips in this State, 
but its popularity has increased greatly during the last 
few years. The requirements of the plant in soil, culture, 
and season correspond very closely to the parsnip. The 
seed is a little more difiScult to start, and pretty generous 
seeding in soil sure to retain fair moisture, and a slightly 
deeper covering than with parsnip seed are desirable. 
Thinning is essential but the root is slimmer and does not 
require so much room. One variety comprises the chief 
local interest, the Mammoth Sandwich Island. It is large 
and otherwise better than the older kinds although the 
Long White is still grown. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
CELERY. 

Celery. — Apium graveolens. 

French, eeleri; German, sellerie ; Danish, selleri ; Italian, 
sedano apio ; Spanish, apio. 

Celeriac. — Idem. 

French, eeleri-rave ; German, knoll-sellerie ; Dutch, 
knoll-selderij ; Danish, knold-selleri ; Italian, sedano-rapa ; 
Spanish, apio-nabo. 

California celery taken from the field during the winter 
months and delivered in the Eastern markets by frost- 
proof cars has, during the last few years, made decided 
progress in competition with the Eastern product taken 
from frost-proof storage in pits, or specially-constructed 
celery houses. On certain well-suited soils in regions sub- 
ject to coast influences, and, therefore, with moderated 
summer temperature, the celery plant makes a grand sum- 
mer growth, with or without irrigation, according to the 
natural moisture of the soil, and encounters no fall or 
winter temperature which injures it in the open field. In 
fact, in these special localities and soils, which will be de- 
scribed presently, the plant finds naturally provided those 
conditions for splendid development which, in less favored 
regions, can only be secured by considerable artifice and 
investment. For these reasons commercial celery grow- 
ing for distant markets is a rapidly advancing industry, 
and has given great value to lands suited to its uses. It 
is estimated that not less than 6000 acres have been plant- 
ed in a single year in Orange county, and that the aver- 
age value of the product on board cars at the nearest sta- 
tion is from $250 to $400 per acre, according to price and 
product — except, of course, when disease causes losses as 
will be mentioned later. There is also a considerable pro- 



LOCATIONS FOR CELERY. 245 

duct for shipment grown on moist lowlands near Stock- 
ton and Sacramento, and large plantings have been made 
in some years, near Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo 
county. 

. In many parts of the State, especially on low, moist 
lands which are frequently of saline character, wild celery 
grows thriftily, and its growth has served as an incentive 
to commercial planting. This wild celery is, however, not 
a native plant. It is merely the garden celery which has 
escaped from cultivation and the escape must have been 
at an earlj^ date, for the occurrence was noted by botanists 
at least 40 j^ears ago. It is now widely distributed. 

Locations for Celery. — Celery thrives best in an equable, 
cool temperature, but it accepts conditions in the "cool- 
night" region of the interior valley. It does not well en- 
dure high heat ; it is hardy against California valley frosts, 
and it demands adequate moisture. It may, therefore, be 
successfully grown in the fall and winter in regions where 
summer heat is too high for it and in the equable coast 
climate it can be enjoyed all the year, providing ample 
soil moisture can be assured. Commercially, it is summer 
grown for winter shipment because it is then best Te- 
ceived in the Eastern markets. 

Soils. — Aside from abundant moisture the chief require- 
ment of the plant is large amounts of decomposed vege- 
table matter in the soil. This is provided in ordinary 
garden soils by the free use of well-rotted manure, mixing 
it thoroughly with the soil by deep digging in or trench- 
ing, and for home supplies this should be undertaken, but 
those who can, may avail themselves of the conclusions of 
a grower at Castroville, near the coast in Monterey county, 
who, after trying for a number of years, almost in vain, 
to raise good celery on an ordinary dry garden soil, finally 
borrowed the use of a little patch of reclaimed swamp 
land — deep, black muck, well drained but moist — and 
grew on it very fine celery with but little labor. In un- 
dertaking production on a commercial scale this advan- 
tage of specially suited soil is imperative. An instance of 



246 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

such soil-fitness is found in the peat lands where celery 
growing has reached the importance above noted. The 
soil consists very largely of decomposed vegetable matter 
and becoming on cultivation, fine and homogeneous. It is 
different from the partially-decomposed and coarse ma- 
terial of the tule swamps. It occurs in deposits of vary- 
ing thickness and sandwiched with layers of sediment or 
clay, the peat layers being, however, connected through 
the dense layers by openings through which the water 
rises in springs and sub-irrigates the surface layer. This 
surface is sometimes treacherous. Much of it will only 
support horses when shod with plank and some can not 
be traversed with animals and is worked by drawing tools 
back and forth with cables from firm headlands on each 
side. Still it is so productive of celery that even such 
bottomless land has been rented as high as $20 per acre 
per year. 

The improvement of peat lands for celery has involved 
problems of reclamation. First open ditches were resorted 
to, but as the area of celery culture extended, under-drain- 
age by tiles was undertaken. By this system the water 
is absolutely under the control of the growers. When the 
drains are opened the lands drain until the water is three 
or four feet below the surface. When drains are closed 
the water soon rises to the surface, giving a most effective 
mode of irrigation for which water is pumped into the 
tile ditches from shallow wells. 

Although these peat lands are very rich at the begin- 
ning, they soon invite fertilization. A special fertilizer 
for celery on peat soils is suggested as follows : nitrogen, 
2% ; potash, 10% ; available phosphoric acid, 5%. About 
a ton of this mixture can be used to the acre. 

Garden Culture. — Celery plants are grown in a seed- 
bed for transplanting to permanent place. The seed is 
very small and very slow of germination, and success de- 
pends upon maintaining even moisture at the surface. For 
starting plants in winter a hot-bed may be used, but high 
heat is neither necessary nor desirable. A cold frame 



A CALIFORNIA CELERY FIELD. 



247 



with cloth cover would be better. But it is quite feasible 
in coast valley situations to grow the plants in the open 
air early enough in the spring to get the crop for the table 
from November onward. Simple and correct suggestions 




for garden culture are given by Mr. S. J. Murdock, of Or- 
ange county, as follows : 

It requires from three to four months from time of sow- 
the seed till the plants are large enough to plant out. The 



248 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

warmer the weather the quicker the plants will grow, and 
the warmer and drier the atmosphere is, the more water 
the seed-bed will need. Select rich, friable soil and sow 
the seed evenly and only moderately thick. Cover the seed 
l)ut lightly, as they are very small, and firm the soil well. 
Keep the soil or bed moist, not soaking wet, but never 
dry, and have patience as they are slow to germinate. 
Keep free from weeds and thin if too thick ; one plant to 
the square inch is about right. When the plants get about 
three inches high, clip the tops off, not too close, but 
about half way, and continue to keep the bed moist, and 
when about four inches high clip again, and they will be 
ready to plant. 

In about a week or ten days lift the plants with a shovel 
or garden trowel so as not to disturb the fine roots more 
than is necessary. Trim the main or taproot to two or 
three inches and keep the roots moist until planted. Se- 
lect a good, rich plat where water is handy, as the ground 
should be as moist as possible to work, and draw shallow 
furrows, say about four inches below the level, and put 
the plants six inches apart in the row. I would prefer a 
single row of sufficient length to two or more shorter ones. 

Take a hard-wood peg, about one and a quarter inches 
in diameter and six inches long; sharpen one end to make 
the holes for the plants. Put the roots straight, and be 
sure and firm the soil well around each plant. 

Stir the ground around the plants and keep the soil 
away instead of up to them till the plants get 12 or 14 in- 
ches high, then work the soil to the plants (but only when 
they are dry), and keep the roots moist. If in the interior 
valleys, it is better to blanch it with boards than by bank- 
ing with earth. Blanch by setting 12-in. boards on edge 
on each side of the row and secure them with stakes stuck 
in the ground and tied at the top, or some dirt thrown 
against the bottom of the boards and the tops held to- 
gether with notched strips. It requires from two to three 
weeks to blanch the White Plume and longer for the green 
sorts. One set of boards will blanch two or three lengths, 



FIELD CULTURE FOR CELERY. 249 

as they can be moved along the row as the celery is used. 
Never bank or board it when wet, and be sure to have both 
bank and boards close enough at the top so that the leaves 
will shed the rain to the outside. 

Bleaching may be done in garden culture by the use of 
drain tiles or by wrapping the plants in pieces of sack- 
ing, or by boards on each side of the row of plants. Any 
arrangement which excludes light and water from the 
stems will accomplish the desired results. 

Celery and Potatoes. — Sometimes an alternation of po- 
tato and celery rows is favored. The potatoes are planted 
in the winter months and they shade the young celery 
plants when they are first planted, and when the celery 
rows are split the operation banks the potatoes. This is 
for moist land where banking of potatoes is desirable. 

FIELD CULTURE. 

Field culture of celery on the very friable peat lands 
of Orange county has developed appliances and processes 
which are very effective and satisfactory, and cheapen 
production to an extent not attainable except on very 
friable soils. Still the practices inculcate the ends to be 
attained in all cases, though the means may differ. Mr. S. 
J. Murdock has given a very explicit description of the 
methods he has found most satisfactory in his experience, 
from which the following is largely compiled. 

The Seed-bed. — A seed-bed which is naturally moist or 
which can be sub-irrigated is preferable, although the 
raised bed with irrigation by seepage, or other arrange- 
ment for maintaining moisture may be used. The soil 
must be light and free from baking. The seed-bed should 
be plowed by the middle of December and left rough for 
the action of frosts and rain, and about two weeks before 
sowing, harrow down and thoroughly hand rake. Let it 
lie till seed-time, which is from March to June, as to sea- 
son or as early or late planting is desired. The early-sown 
seed requires longer time to make plants large enough for 
planting, but if planted moderately thick and well cared 



250 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

for, makes strong, sturdy plants. At planting rake the 
surface thoroughly again with a sharp, close-toothed rake 
and either drill or sow seed broadcast. The drill is pre- 
ferable but if broadcast lightly rake the seed in and either 
roll or firm the soil thoroughly, as there is much seed lost 
by neglecting this part. The seed-beds are generally made 
from four to six feet wide, leaving room between each 
bed to weed and clip them, which constitutes the after 
care except to keep them moist. Keep as free from weeds 
as possible, and when the plants get about three inches 
high, clip the tops about half way down, and when they 
get three or four inches high, if not ready to plant, clip 
again, as the keeping of tops back makes the roots strong. 

Planting in the Field. — The land should be thoroughly 
cleaned of trash and given early and thorough prepara- 
tion as will be described in the chapter on corn. In 
Orange county planting in the early part of June brings 
the crop for Thanksgiving and in July for the holidays 
and later in the winter. Laying off for planting is done 
by taking off all but the three inside discs of a disc har- 
row, attaching a shovel plow in the middle and close be- 
hind the harrow, and following this with a 5 or 6-foot 
roller with a raised belt around the center, which runs in 
the plow furrow and forms a compact trench about 6 
inches deep. Four feet is the usual distance between the 
trenches, and the plants are set 6 inches apart in the bot- 
tom of the trench. 

A full crew of planters is ten men ; one to lay out the 
furrows, one spacer or marker, who has an implement 
which makes from four to twelve holes at a time, depend- 
ing on size of tool used. There are also four planters and 
four plant pullers. It is the duty of the first man to draw 
the furrows as straight and as near equi-distant as possi- 
ble, give general supervision of the planting and see that 
the pullers use judgment in preparing the plants. Unless 
the plants have been recently clipped in the bed, both tops 
and roots need clipping when pulled, so as to leave the 
main or taproot about two and one-half or three inches 



HARVESTING CELERY. 



251 



long, and the tops clipped of the surplus leaves. They 
are usually put in large-sized milk pans, the roots kept 
wet and delivered to the planters in the pans. The spacer 





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makes the holes for the plants just ahead of the planter. 
Both the furrows and holes for plants should be freshly 
made so as to have no dry dirt to hinder the planters, who 



252 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

should be careful and painstaking, as the plants need to 
be put in the proper depth, the roots straight and the 
soil well firmed around each plant and no unfilled space 
beneath the plant to dry out. A crew should plant from 
an acre to an acre and a half per day, according to the 
condition of the land and the proper oversight of the 
force. This mode of planting leaves the plants from four 
to six inches below the general level. There are about 
20,000 plants to the acre, of which perhaps one-tenth do 
not reach maturity even under favorable conditions. 

Crowding. — The next operation is called crowding, 
which is done by a tool made as follows : Take a common 
iron or steel cultivator, take the standards and shovels 
off, then take two pieces of steel one-fourth of an inch 
thick, six inches wide and four feet long. Sharpen one 
edge of each piece and bolt to the outside frames of the 
cultivator so that the tops of the steel bars are about even 
with the top of the frame and on top of the rear half of 
each, add eight or ten inches of heavy sheet iron. The 
Front of these blades should be from five to six inches 
apart and the rear about 30 inches. In a week or ten days 
after planting, hitch two steady horses to this tool and 
crowd the dirt away from each side of the rows. This 
kills the new weeds just starting and covers up all in the 
middle of the rows and leaves a ridge of loose soil. Fol- 
low this by going over each row and filling in all the 
missing plants with strong, vigorous ones and uncover an}^ 
plants covered by clods or loose dirt ; then take a light, 
narrow hoe and draw between each plant. When plants 
get larger, work the soil back to them to prevent spread- 
ing. Keep well tilled, and soil moist by irrigation if 
necessary. 

Bleaching. — There is some bleaching with boards set on 
edge on each side of the rows secured by stakes made of 
lath, stuck in the ground and tied together at the top, but 
it is done mostly by banking the light, loose peat soil up 
to the plants. This is done by a machine made the re- 
verse of the crowded described for first use, and much 



MARKETING CELERY. 253 

larger and heavier. It is used with wide end forward, 
which draws and crowds the earth up to the plants. From 
16 to 20 days will generally bleach the variety grown, the 
White Plume, which is grown almost exclusively, not that 
it is the best, but trade demands it and it is the easiest to 
raise, as it requires less labor and is more easily bleached 
than other sorts. 

Harvesting. — The harvesting is done with a U-shaped 
cutter attached to a suitable frame, drawn on each side 
and under the rows of banked celery, cutting off the roots 
and raising them in the loose soil. This is followed by 
the trimmers, who lift the plants, trim off the outer stalk 
and square the roots. It is now ready to tie in bunches 
or crate. 

Marketing. — Celery is shipped in crates, 22x24 in. base, 
which holds six to eight dozen of celery, according to size. 
An average crate will weigh about 145 pounds, and 160 
crates make an average carload. Some eastern dealers 
prefer the celery shipped in bulk or on decks built in the 
car. This is a much cheaper way to ship, and is claimed 
by some to be just as safe. In shipping in this way, three 
decks are built in the car, and the celery is tied in bunches 
of one dozen each and stood upright with roots resting on 
the decks. By this method three or four hundred dozen 
more celery can be packed in a ear. Celery is shipped to 
all the principal cities of the United States and Canada, 
and carries successfully. The marketing of the crop is 
largely done by associations of growers. 

Celery Blight. — Occasionally atmospheric condi'tions fa- 
vor the growth of a leaf fungus known as celery blight, 
and great losses have resulted in some years. Recent ex- 
perience shows that the blight is subject to control by 
spraying the plants with the Bordeaux mixture as soon 
as signs of the incroachment of the disease appear, or 
when weather conditions indicate the danger to be immi- 
nent. Special publications on this subject can be had 
from the University Experiment Station at Berkeley. 
Varieties. — As already stated, the White Plume is the 



254 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

chief variety grown for shipment, and enterprising sales- 
men have secnred improved sub-varieties by selection. 
Self-blanehing is grown, and it is highly esteemed by 
local gardeners. It will be well for home growers to try 
also some of the higher quality varieties offered by the 
seedsmen when they are ready to take particular pains 
to grow them well. 

CELERAIC. 

The turnip-rooted celery is very desirable for cooking 
and salad purposes. It is grown in nearly the same way 
as ordinary celery, except that it is allowed to make free 
top growth without blanching, as the root is the edible 
part. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
CHICORY. 

Large Rooted Chicory. — Ciclwrium Intyhus. 

French, ehicoree sanvage ; German, cichorie ; Danish, 
sichorie; Italian, cieoria ; Spanish, achicoria ; Portnguese, 
chicoria. 

The Endive. — Chicoria endivia. 

French, ehicoree endive ; German, endivien ; Dntch, an- 
dijvie ; Danish, endivien ; Italian, indivia ; Spanish, en- 
divia. 

The chicory plant cuts a very small figure at present in 
the general gardening of Californians. The use of the 
blanched leaves, forced in the dark from mature roots 
bedded in sand, is confined to a few foreigners who know 
the harhe-de-capucin of the French or the witloof of the 
Germans. It is a delicious vegetable, either raw, boiled, 
or as a salad. Nor are the leaves in their natural state 
much used here for salad. Both of these uses of the plant 
should be more widely known in California, for the culti- 
vated growth of the roots in this State is very fine, and 
for running wild, as an escape from flower garden culture, 
it might be denounced as a vile weed were not its large 
blue flowers so beautiful upon the yellow of our dry sum- 
mer fields and roadsides. 

Viewing the plant as yielding a root rather than a foli- 
age crop, it is of much importance in this State. The root, 
sliced, dried, roasted and coarsely ground, is the "chic- 
ory" of commerce — the adulterant of coffee which nearly 
every one denounces in theory and enjoys in practice ; for 
the occurrence of absolutely pure coffee is so restricted 
that it often, at first, offends the palate of the unaccustom- 



256 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ed drinker. California chicory growers have for years 
contested the American markets with German chicory, 
and a very capacious factory has been in operation near 
Stockton for the last 35 years, and formerly there was 
another near Sacramento. The vicissitudes of tariff legis- 
lation during this period have made the business uncer- 
tain, sometimes very profitable, sometimes not, according 
as the German product entered free or paid duty. If the 
tariff would maintain a favorable attitude, California 
could furnish cheap coffee for the whole country and beet- 
sugar for its sweetening besides. During the last few 
years, however, the business has been reduced in Califor- 
nia by the overflow of the lands used but may be expected 
to reassert itself. For the home-grower of coffee counter- 
feits, the chicory plant offers a better material than the 
"coffee bean" and other substitutes which are offered. 
The growth of the plant and its preparation for the break- 
fast table are quite simple. 

Chicory grows to perfection on light sedimentary soils 
which afford the root opportunity for expansion, and re- 
tain moisture enough for its thrift during the long, dry 
summer. The plant is hardy and the seed is usually sown 
in February. The preparation of the soil, sowing, thin- 
ning, weeding and cultivation, are identical with the same 
operations for the sugar beet already described. The ex- 
pense with chicory is, at present at least, considerably 
greater than with the beet, because the moist land which 
is used gives more persistent weed growth and occasions 
an amount of hard work which is appalling to an observer. 
The crop partly compensates for this outlay, because the 
value per ton is twice as great a.s the sugar beet, and the 
crop is not enough less in weight to equalize things. The 
average crop on Roberts island, near Stockton, in favor- 
able years is about ten tons to the acre, though some years 
the average will go to 12 and the best crops to 15 tons per 
acre. The factory price for the fresh root has usually been 
$10 per ton. The cost of growing, including rent, ranges 
from $50 to $80 per acre. The soil on Roberts island is a 



THE ENDIVE. 257 

mixture of sediment and peat — deep, rich, light and moist ; 
most admirably adapted to the root. 

Harvesting and Curing. — From seed sown in February, 
harvesting continues from the middle of August to the 
middle of October. Early gathering is necessary, as sun- 
dried chicory is better than that cured by artificial heat. 
When ready for gathering a plow is run along each side 
of the plants with subsoil cutter and lifter attached, which 
loosens the roots so that they can be easily lifted from the 
soil by the hand clean and ready for the cutting machine. 
This operation is like the gathering of sugar beets, and 
the topping or removal of the leaves is the same. 

"When they reach the factory the roots are placed in the 
machine, which cuts them into cubic blocks three-fourths 
of an inch in size. The drying platform comes in use next, 
and when the chicory has been dried as far as sun power 
will dry it, it is placed in the roasters, each holding two 
barrels, where it is roasted as coffee is before being ground. 
From the roasters it goes to the mill, where it is ground 
put in barrels, and thus becomes the chicory of commerce. 

The preparation of chicory for home use is a very simple 
operation and can be done with ordinary kitchen appli- 
ances. 

The variety grown is the "large-rooted Magdeburg," 
with leaves entire and upright. 

THE ENDIVE. 

Though botanically a chicory, the endive in its uses is 
closely allied with lettuce and is chiefly useful during the 
frosty period of the year, for then its flavor is likely to 
be better than that of lettuce, because it is able to grow 
more rapidly with low temperatures. As, however, there 
is so much of California which does favor rapid winter 
growth of lettuce the endive is correspondingly restricted. 
Still in localities with heavy rainfall and long stretches of 
chilly winter weather, the endive will give good supplies 
of salad material and should be better known. It is also 
valuable as a boiled vegetable possessing a distinctive 



258 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

flavor which is generally acceptable and used in this lat- 
ter form it is quite a valuable addition to such plants as 
Swiss Chard and Spinach. 

As a salad plant the value of endive depends largely 
upon its being properly grown and thoroughly well 
blanched. Blanching induces delicacy and tenderness of 
eating and can probably be best effected by bunching up 
the leaves and tying with string or raffia, or by spreading 
hay or straw thickly over the plants. Some care must be 
given to the proper blanching of the plants, for unless this 
is successfully accomplished endive is not likely to be 
appreciated. 

The plant is easy of culture, the methods being essenti- 
ally those described for lettuce, but chiefly sown in sum- 
mer and early fall for use in the rainy season. The follow- 
ing varieties most largely used in California : 

Green curled : very curly, midrib whitish, leaves finely 
divided. 

White curled: yellowish green, very curly and attrac- 
tive looking. 

Escarole or Batavian : leaves wider and thicker, dull 
green, a good variety for boiling. 

Staghorn : strong-growing, leaves curly but less finely 
divided and thicker, also good for cooking. 



CHAPTER XX. 
CORN. 

Sweet Corn. — Zea mays. 

French, mais sucre ; German, mais ; Dutch, Turksche 
tarwe; Italian, grano turco; Spanish, maiz; Portuguese, 
milho. 

California cannot claim to be a large producer of corn, 
though it does grow large corn and has a long green corn 
season. Of the summer grains corn is produced in least 
amount, because the others can make winter growth and 
corn cannot, and they mature at about the time when corn 
can be safely planted. They pass the dry season in the 
sack while corn has to endure it in the field and does not 
take kindly to it. Dry heat puts it in distress which irri- 
gation does not wholly relieve. In the place of corn on the 
interior plains improved varieties of sorghum are now 
largely grown both for the grain and the forage. 

But while this is true there are regions in which mag- 
nificent corn is grown. These are usually moist lowlands 
from the valleys north of the bay of San Francisco south- 
ward to San Diego ; near enough to the coast to catch 
something of atmospheric humidity from the ocean, and 
still with summer heat enough to suit this warmth-loving 
plant. There are also great corn lands in the river bot- 
toms of the interior valley, where the drought is less than 
on the plains, and in the low moist lands of the foot-hill 
and mountain valleys as well. In all these places and 
where similar conditions are produced by irrigation, corn 
reaches great dimensions. 

Of course, corn as a vegetable is somewhat different 
from corn as a grain. So also is corn as a green forage 
plant. For "roasting ears" and for green forage, ripen- 



Ii60 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

ing conditions are not essential, and for these purposes the 
plant can be carried nearer to the coast than for a grain 
crop, and in the warmer regions it can be planted late for 
a longer succession than for grain if moisture enough is 
provided. It is not uncommon, therefore, in the interior 
to have good roasting ears at Thanksgiving or even in De- 
cember at elevations or in other places where early frosts 
are seldom known. Thus corn as a vegetable in California 
is a greater affair than corn as a grain. It would have 
even a greater value as a garden plant were it not for the 
ravages of the ear-worm, which so far defies insecticides 
and which takes its full share of the crop at the times 
when its appetite is good. It is usually the early corn 
which suffers most from this pest. 

Soil. — The requirements of Indian corn are so Avidely 
known that it will hardly be necessary to enter minutely 
into them. The soil should be preferably a rich, sandy 
loam, sufficiently retentive of moisture and yet easy to 
keep in fine tilth. Satisfactory results can, however, be 
secured on quite a variety of soils if warmth and moisture 
can be assured. In the heavier soils there is much advant- 
age in plowing under the disintegrated roots of previous 
growths of weeds or crop-plants and the best corn often 
comes here as elsewhere on newly-broken land. 

Preparation for Corn. — As the corn plants resent drouth 
so strenuously it is very important that preparation of 
the land should include efforts for thorough moistening 
of the land by rainfall or irrigation, followed by surface 
treatment to prevent evaporation. All that has been 
urged in these directions in the chapter on cultivation has 
especial pertinence in preparation for the corn crop. It 
is vain to expect to succeed by shallow cultivation except 
where the land is natirually sub-irrigated, and even on 
such land there must be deep working enough to place the 
seed below the dry surface layer. Slack preparation on 
lands which naturally dry out in the summer assures 
failure and disapptointment. 

Planting. — Corn is a very tender plant and must be 



METHODS OF GROWING CORN. 



261 



planted not only after frosts are over, but after the soil has 
become well warmed and warmth may be expected to con- 
tinue. The date of planting must be determined by the 



fT''^i: 




local attainment of these conditions. From this time on- 
ward through the summer, planting may be done if 
moisture enough can be retained in the soil. For this 



262 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

reason, on moist or irrigated land, corn is planted after 
winter-growing crops are cleared away, and large yields 
are secured. Near the coast where the corn plant is con- 
stantly refreshed by ocean moisture in the air, it will 
make good green growth with what remains from winter 
rainfall on land from which a crop of beets or carrots, 
sown the previous season, has been cleared away. In such 
rotation the land should be plowed as early as possible 
after the roots have been taken off, to keep down the 
growth of grass and weeds and retain moisture till the 
proper time for planting corn, which will depend a good 
deal on the wetness or dryness of the season. The earli- 
ness of the first planting will depend mainly on the fitness 
of the land and the situation, but for early use, some early 
variety of sweet corn should be planted as soon as circum- 
stances are favorable for doing so, to be followed by sev- 
eral successive planting, say, through May and June, and 
even into July. 

Growers differ as to the advantages of growing in hills 
or in rows. Hills give opportunity to cultivate in two 
directions with the horse. Rows have a tendency to check 
the draft of dry winds when the rows run at right angles 
to their anticipated direction. The general course of dry, 
hot summer winds is from north to south (except where 
given a different trend by local topography), consequently 
east and west rows oppose them and in some measure 
shade the soil and the plant better from sun heat. But 
when prevailing practice shows that the ground in the row 
usually goes untouched by tools and consequently becomes 
hard and dry, it is quite a question whether the separa- 
tion of the plants into hills for free cultivation both ways 
is not on the whole much the better method. But choice 
may be governed by local conditions. 

Distance in corn planting depends upon the habit of 
growth of the variety. Small early kinds may be planted 
in hills three feet apart each way or in rows three feet 
apart, but larger kinds may need wider spacing, even up 
to five feet. Seed should always be planted in excess; 



GARDEN CORN. 263 

five or six kernels in the hill, to be thinned to the three 
or four strongest plants, four inches apart in the row, to 
be thinned to eight or ten inches, according to size and 
variety. 

For laying off hills in straight lines after plowing and 
harrowing, a marker should be used both ways and the 
corn planted at the intersections of the lines either with 
the hoe or the hand corn planter. For planting in rows 
the drill attachment or hand dropping in the furrow is 
used, followed by the harrow. 

Depth of planting depends upon the soil and the situa- 
tion for the reasons given in the chapter on propagation. 
On very light soils in a dry region very deep covering is 
admissible because the few inches at the surface count for 
nothing, but on heavier soils in good moisture, and espe- 
cially early in the season, shallow covering is preferable. 

For succession there should be planting done in the 
garden every two weeks during the local season. 

Cultivation. — If deep working of the soil is the founda- 
tion of a corn crop, as stated, frequent summer cultivation 
is the building itself. If the ground is well laid off, the 
cultivator can be used to advantage even before the corn 
shows up to destroy weeds and loosen the surface. After- 
ward the cultivator should be run at very short intervals, 
for the hot dry season is always right at the heels of the 
corn planter and should never be allowed to catch up 
with it. Some of the finest corn we ever saw was grown 
in Orange county in this way : The land was plowed four 
times, irrigated twice, hoed twice, and cultivated and 
worked in a most thorough manner. In the Avhole process 
of raising the corn the grower went over the land no less 
than sixteen times. It is hardly to be expected that such 
diligence will be general, but it has to be recognized as 
the price of the best results. 

Garden Com. — Every one wants early corn, and the 
early varieties are about the only kinds that can be grown 
on some uplands without irrigation. They are small in 
growth, rapid in ear and best wherever the season is 



264 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

shortened either by lack of moisture or heat. Some later 
varieties are sweeter, however, and larger in the ear, and 
should be grown wherever possible. 

Adam's Early: hardy and very early, but not a "sweet 
corn." 

Early Cory : very early, good-sized ear, small cob well 
filled. 

Crosby's Early Sugar: very early, short ear, sweet and 
productive. 

Early Minnesota : very early, good ear, white cob, ex- 
cellent quality. 

Early Mammoth : medium early, largest ears of the 
early verieties, cob white, large and well filled, productive 
and of good flavor. The kind chiefly grown in California. 

Perry's Hybrid: another early variety, ears large and 
full, grain white, cob red, plant rather tall. 

Black Mexican : ears rather short, cook white, very 
sweet, ripe kernel black. 

Country Gentleman : large ears, very sweet, tall, very 
productive. 

Stowell 's Evergreen : a standard late variety, com- 
mended by all, large ears, deep grain, tender and sweet, a 
strong grower and productive. 

Sweet corn is constantly increasing in popularity over 
common field corn both for green and cured forage for 
cows. Late Mammonth and Stowell's Everygreen are 
largely used for this purpose. In farm garden practice 
more attention should usually be paid to the forage value 
of the stalk. If cut and cured as each stalk is robbed of 
its ears, it is more nutritious than if allowed to bleach iv 
the sun until the whole field is cleaned up. 

Field and Ensilage Corn. — During the last decade siloef 
have multiplied in various parts of the State and a much 
greater acreage of field corn has been grown than for- 
merly. It is chiefly grown in rows and somewhat less 
carefully than corn for grain, because the plant is not re- 
quired to meet the strenuous requirements of grain ripen- 
ing. Still the better the growing the better the crop. A 



FIELD AND ENSILAGE CORN. 265 

hardy, vigorous, tall growth is important for silo hlliug. 
Varieties chiefly grown are the Learning, which well meets 
these points and is the most popular of the yellow varie- 
ties in California, and Sanford White Flint, which holds 
about the same place among white sorts. The Red Cob 
Ensilage is a strong growing, short jointed and leafy 
variety especially selected for silo purposes. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE CUCUMBER. 

Cucumber. — (Jucu mis sativus. 

French, concombre ; German, gurke ; Dutch, komkom- 
mer; Danish, agurken ; Italian, cetriolo; Spanish, cohom- 
bro ; Portuguese, pepino. 

The cucumber is rather an exacting phuit and seldom 
yields anything but disappointment to the grower who 
does not give it the most watchful care and generous sup- 
plies of food and drink. It is very sensitive to frosts, nor 
does it thrive in low temperatures even if free from frost. 
It rejoices in heat, but it abhors drouth. It is not eon- 
tent, like some members of its botanical famil^y, to thrive 
in dry heat if it can find moisture below ; the heat re- 
flected from a dry surface and interior sunshine beaming 
through dry air brings distress to its foliage. For these 
reasons it usually resents location on interior plains un- 
less it can have abundant moisture and some protection 
from heat — such at least as locally may come from modi- 
fying the air immediatelj'- around it, by evaporation from 
water standing near. Modified interior conditions such as 
are found on river-side land or moist lowlands often yield 
fine growth and productiveness, but even there it is often 
necessary to keep the moisture close to the plant by irri- 
gation. In coast valleys where heat and moisture are well 
balanced and on soil rich and moist by cultivation the 
plant may be productive enough without irrigation, 
but as a rule even in parts of coast valleys where the heat 
runs high, as ocean influences are reduced, not only is 
occasional irrigation needed but constant supplies are the 
price of thrift in the plant. For these reasons the placing 
of cucumbers along the main ditches where water fre- 



CUCUMBER CONDITIONS. 267 

quently or always flows, or the use of a raised bed with 
water flowing on the ridge, is the surest way to make the 
plants satisfactory and prolific where the heat runs high. 
And yet, as stated, there are considerable areas in difi'er- 
ent parts of the State where conditions are so favorable 
that field growth of cucumbers for the market and for 
the pickle factories, is feasible without irrigation. There 
are moist lowlands, rich and warm, where the foliage does 
not show burnt edges and where the free growth of vine 
is marvelous to one who has tried to push the plant in 
places too trying for it. It is also possible in frostless 
regions where heat comes early in the spring, to find con- 
ditions for an early crop which is disposed of before try- 
ing summer conditions come on. Early spring conditions 
in California are widely favorable to the plant did not 
the frost factor intrude. Autumn growing is also practi- 
cable where moisture is adequate, for then heat and 
drouth are modified. Cucumbers from the open ground at 
Thanksgiving or later are common in some regions. 

Soil. — Cucumbers require a rich soil, and it must be re- 
tentive of moisture, for the reasons stated, unless water 
is to be constantly supplied. A rather light soil which 
warms up early is preferable, but heavy soil can be 
readily adapted to cucumbers on a small scale by free use 
of well-rotted manure thoroughly mixed. A free loam, 
not disposed to bake, is the best soil. 

Preparation of Soil. — Land from which a well cultivated 
root crop has been removed for winter use can be easily 
put into condition for cucumbers by good deep spring 
plowing and harrowing, to retain moisture. New land 
should receive such fall and winter treatment as has been 
prescribed for bean planting, so as to secure in spring as 
good tilth and moisture retention as possible. 

Planting and Cultivation. — Cucumbers are usually 
grown in hills, from four to six feet apart each way. 
Planting should not be done until the soil becomes Avarm 
and frost injury is over ; then planting five or six seeds in 
a hill, covering as lightly as can be trusted to retain 



268 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

moisture until the plants take hold. As soon as the plants 
appear, cultivation must begin, using the horse between 
the rows and the hoe around the plants. The surface 
must be kept mellow and free from weeds. If the plants 
all grow, select the best two or three and pull out the 
others. Continue cultivation as long as it is possible to 
stir the soil without injuring the vines. 

Gathering. — Frequent gathering of the cucumbers as 
they reach satisfactory size is essential to the long bear- 
ing of the vines. None should be allowed to ripen except 
on vines planted for that purpose, and all imperfect speci- 
mens should be taken off as soon as seen. 

Cucumbers Under Cover. — Very little is done in Cali- 
fornia in house-growing of cucumbers, although this in- 
terest is increasing. A little forcing is done by market 
gardeners, but the business is risky because of the slight 
demand and the fact that open-air cucumbers from early 
regions come so soon after the late crop from frostless 
places is disposed of. It is quite common to start plants 
under cover, and plant out early even at risk of replant- 
ing. Growers usually keep a stock of plants ready for this 
purpose. 

Garden Culture of Cucumbers. — In the garden very 
elaborate arrangements may be made to secure early 
cucumbers. Growing the plants on inverted sod and 
planting out as a whole hill, as described in the chapter 
on propagation, is satisfactory. Planting on the sides of 
ditches has already been mentioned. Growing hills or 
single plants in tin cans or other receptacles and pro- 
tecting them until safe to plant out is also an easy way to 
get an earlier crop than otherwise. Some use is made 
of deep holes partly filled with tramped horse manure 
and then with earth, and growing plants on top of the hill 
thus formed, protected with glass or cloth. With such 
arrangements double care must be had to supply enough 
water. The south side of a fence or building is a good 
place for fast spring growth. In short, moderate heat, 
copious watering and rich soil are the secrets of good 



VARIETIES OF CUCUMBERS. 269 

cucumbers, and there is much chance for ingenuity in 
securing these conditions. 

For Pickling. — Cucumbers for pickling are largely 
grown in the early autumn for midsummer planting. As 
stated before, where irrigation can be had, autumn tem- 
peratures are often very favorable for the plant. 

Varieties. — Although our fairs and local produce ex- 
hibits may be counted upon to bring to view almost every 
shape and length of cucumber which amateurs delight in, 
very few kinds constitute the crop grown for use and sale. 

Arlington White Spine : good size, straight and sym- 
metrical, holds green color well, very productive and 
early ; used both for market and pickling. 

Long White Spine : a standard mid-season variety, large, 
dark green, tender, white crisp flesh. 

Klondike : similar to Long White Spine, specially fa- 
vored by southern California market growers. 

Long Green : an old standard late variety ; dark green ; 
firm and crisp ; good form ; a favorite for pickling. 

Green Prolific or Boston Pickling : early and productive ; 
small size ; crisp and tender ; popular for pickling. 

Pera : long, smooth skin, good green color, and flesh 
white and crisp ; flavor excellent ; seed cavity small ; rather 
late. 

Cumberland : hardy, vigorous and prolific ; very de- 
sirable for pickling because very good in all sizes. 

Chicago Pickling : medium long, dark green, rounded 
ends ; a popular pickling variety. 

Cool and Crisp ; especially favored as a garden variety ; 
green but ripening white. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
EGG PLANT. 

Egg Plant. — Solanum melongena. 

French, aubergine ; German, eierpflanze ; Flemish, eier- 
plant; Italian, petonciano ; Spanish, berengena; Portu- 
guese, bringela. 

Egg plant is one of the great vegetables in California; 
it is great in the size and quality, which are easily at- 
tained, and great in its popularity. It is doubtful whether 
any part of the world makes such free use of the plant, 
and enjoys it through so long a season. Although the 
plant is properly classed as tender, and is somewhat ex- 
acting in the starting of the seed and in transplanting, it 
grows riotously when well established in a favorable loca- 
tion and soil, fruits freely and continuously, and it is not 
unusual to find at California fairs specimens of six pounds 
weight, while fruit of two and three pounds constitute 
common stock with the vegetable peddlers. 

Location and Soil. — Egg plant can be successfully grown 
almost everywhere in California, but there will naturally 
be much variation in its season, according to the local 
occurrence of the frost-free period. In the frostless belts, 
described in previous chapters, it is feasible to start the 
plants in the autumn and secure a very early crop ; in 
most places, however, the plants can best be grown with 
bottom heat in the winter, and fruiting secured all 
through the summer and fall, if the nights are rather 
warm and the heat not too fitful. 

As the plant will endure very high heat if well supplied 
with moisture, and as it resists drought, when well estab- 
lished, it is well adapted to interior conditions. It suc- 
ceeds admirably in the interior bottom lands if water is 



GROWING EGG PLANTS. 27L 

not excessive, and is perfectly at home as well in the coast 
regions, both valley and uplands, if adequately watered. 
It is not very exacting in soil character, and can be safely 
undertaken on any good garden land if well cultivated 
and manured, for the plant is a strong feeder and should 
grow fast and regularly. 

Growing the Plants. — Egg plants can be easily grown 
from seed by the use of seed boxes, with bottom heat or 
in an ordinary hot-bed, all of which are described in the 
chapter on propagation. The seed should be covered 
about half an inch. Extra regard must be had for main- 
taining a uniform and rather high temperature for the 
starting and early growth of the seedlings, as the seed 
germinates slowly and needs encouraging conditions. 
Transplanting the seedlings twice before planting out 
renders them more stocky. Planting out should only be 
done when the soil is warm and in good condition, for it is 
necessary that the seedlings should quickly take hold and 
proceed vigorously afterwards. Plants may be grown 
from two and a half to three feet apart each way. 

After Treatment.— The best of cultivation must be given 
to prevent any check or setback in the growth of the 
plants. Irrigation must be used as necessary to advance 
this result. It is desirable that the plant should be pre- 
vented from setting too many fruits and pinching off the 
terminals to prevent too great running out is often ad- 
visable. 

Varieties. — The New York Improved Purple is the fa- 
vorite variety and is chiefly grown. Black Beauty, a deep 
purple, a little earlier but usually not quite so large is also 
popular. Other sorts, though much less popular, are the 
Early Long Purple and the Black Pekin. The White Pearl 
is the best of the whites which are, however, in less de- 
mand. The Tree Egg Plant is hardy, upright and escapes 
some ills of lower growing varieties in bad weather. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
LETTUCE. 

Cabbage Lettuce. — Lacluca capitata. 

French, laitues pommees; German, kopfsalat; Dutch, 
kropsalad ; Italian, lattuga a cappucio ; Spanish, lechiiga 
acogollada ; Portuguese, alface repolhada. 

Cos Lettuce. — Ide7n. 

French, laitues romaines ; German, bind-salat ; Dutch, 
roomsche latouw ; Italian, lattuga romana ; Spanish, lech- 
uga romana ; Portuguese, alface romana. 

Lettuce is emphatically a satisfactory garden plant in 
California. It is unaffected by the ordinary winter tem- 
peratures of our valleys and foothills, and it endures the 
heat, if moisture is adequate, with only slight protection 
from the burning sun. It withers and dies or it becomes 
tough and worthless, in the face of drought, it is true, but 
any gardener who does not arrange better for its growth 
does not deserve to enjoy its refreshing crispness. Who- 
ever will provide the simplest arrangement to relieve its 
roots from cold, standing water in winter, or who will keep 
its roots moist and afford slight shade for its tender leaves 
from the interior heat in summer, need never miss a day 
of lettuce-gathering. And even these slight aids from the 
grower are not needed everywhere. In regions naturally 
moderate, both in moisture and heat, and with a few weeks 
of watering in midsummer, succession of lettuce is un- 
broken throughout the year on any good garden soil which 
is well cultivated. There is little lettuce forcing in Cali- 
fornia, and, of course, with such natural conditions, there 
is small need of any, and yet during recent years, owing 
to the constant demand for lettuce all the year, because of 
the increased importance of salads in the menu, there has 



LETTUCE ALL THE YEAR. 273 

arisen new opportunity for forcing and shipment of let- 
tuce considerable distances by rail has advanced notably 
during the last decade. In central California cities dur- 
ing the season of heaviest rains it is hard to get bright, 
clean lettuces from local market gardens and much is 
brought from the Los Angeles district where there is less 
rain and more winter sunshine. It is to be expected that 
as population increases there will be a better opportunity 
for local forcing enterprises which can be conducted with 
slight structures and a minimum of artificial heat. 

Culture. — Lettuce can be sown on moist ground the year 
round. It is exceedingly rapid in development, and can be 
grown as a catch crop among slower growing vegetables 
at all times of the year. It starts readily from the seed, 
and the most common practice is to sow a thin drill of it 
here or there, as interspace is to be for a short time un- 
occupied, thinning the plants at the first weeding and al- 
lowing them to head in the thinned row. This is the 
simplest practice, and will be most generally followed in 
the farm garden. And yet it is so easy to imitate the mar- 
ket gardeners and put in transplanted lettuces here and 
there, wherever an unoccupied corner appears, that this 
practice must be urged even for the simplest gardening — 
provided that the plants are not tucked in in such a way 
that hand-work is required where the horse should do it. 

Wherever a winter or early spring vegetable is cleared 
away a due share of lettuce should go in. Wherever a 
summer vegetable yields the ground, the soil should be 
well soaked and cultivated and the lettuce should not be 
overlooked. As soon as the fall rains sufficiently wet the 
ground, lettuce should be among the first sowings. And 
before the winter comes on, with its heavy rains, a warm 
ridge or raised bed should have its lettuce covering under- 
way so that midwinter shall not lack its supply of salad. 
And in February, as the ground is again suited for flat 
culture, new sowings of lettuce should be among the first 
things done. Thus it is seen that lettuce is to be sown all 
the year and plucked all the year in California. 



274 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

It is not necessary, perhaps, to sow lettuce so often if 
seed beds are prepared so that they will readily drain 
away winter water and have slight protection from cold 
winds in the winter and burning sun in summer. From 
these beds plants can be taken at different times as land 
is available for planting out, just as cabbages are trans- 
planted, and even though the plants have attained con- 
siderable size in the seed-bed, the long roots can be short- 
ened a little and they can still be transplanted to good 
moist soil, and will go on with the heading all the better 
for the freer space. It may be quicker to get lettuce with 
the loose-leaved plants, but the heads are more delicious, 
and all should learn to keep the plants in good thrift un- 
til they become full and solid Mnth their crisp and delici- 
ous contents. Seed-beds should not have much heating 
material in this climate. It is better for the plants to grow 
slowly at first, and after the rains a raised bed with enough 
fibrous material and well-spent manure will furnish a long 
succession for transplanting. But whether the ordinary 
grower will undertake this work or not, let him have let- 
tuce anyway — -even if he will only scatter seed at frequent 
intervals on moist ground and then give the plants good 
hoeing. To get crisp, tender lettuce the plants must be 
pushed along with rich soil and good cultivation whatever 
method of growing is pursued. 

In the hot parts of the State, where the summer tries 
the plants, lettuce should be planted on the shady side of 
tall growing vegetables, and then, with moisture enough, 
they will do well. Lath screens or other devices are, of 
course, serviceable if one prefers them. But do not be 
content with a little lettuce in the spring and go without 
the rest of the year. It only requires a little ingenuity 
and energy and water to have crisp, cooling salad all sum- 
mer, when it is most delicious and wholesome. 

Varieties. — There is almost illimital)le variety in lettuce, 
and inextricable confusion in the nomenclature resulting 
from re-naming by seedsmen and others. As with other 
plants, however, a few varieties constitute the bulk of the 



VARIETIES OP LETTUCE. 275 

California lettuce product. It is customary to arrange 
lettuce varieties in two groups; one has roundish heads 
and includes the "cabbage" varieties; the other has tall, 
elongated heads and includes the "cos" varieties. There 
is, of course, much difference in the density of the heads, 
and some are quite loose and open, properly called "bunch- 
ing," but the close-heading varieties are better and the 
more suitable for market handling. In California the cab- 
bage varieties vary largely preponderate over the cos 
varieties, and the non-heading or "cutting lettuces," or 
curled varieties, are not widely grown, though they may 
be found useful in getting the quickest foliage from the 
seed sowing. It should be noted that compared with the 
cabbage type, the cos lettuce is hardier and less suscep- 
tible to frost ; it also shows more ability to withstand 
drought and is also less liable to sunburn, the last two 
features making it better adapted to hot and dry locali- 
ties, while the first is one which especially recommends its 
use as a late kind. 

Large Passion : medium sized, round head, fine, large, 
solid, and white, crisp, tender, and of fine flavor; not as 
fine in appearance as some others, but it stands handling 
better, and is very good for shipping. 

Royal Summer : known in the East as California Cream 
butter, large, solid, round heads, light green outside, 
creamy yellow within ; stands heat well, particularly 
popular for autumn and winter use. 

Maximum or Immensity : very much larger than the fore- 
going which it resembles ; good for fall and winter growth 
and a heavy, durable shipping variety. 

Big Boston : a light green cabbage variety with light 
brown tinge to the leaves ; largely grown in the south for 
northern shipments ; forms a fine head, endures tempera- 
ture changes well. 

May King : a very early, quick heading variety, colored 
like Big Boston ; good for spring and summer use. 

White Paris Cos : upright grower, with long head ; needs 



276 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES, 

tying up for blanching; tender and crisp, a favorite with 
foreign residents. 

Improved Hanson : heads round, very solid and large, 
green outside and white within ; flavor fine ; stands heat 
well ; very popular for house gardens. » 

Prize Head : an early variety with large, loose bunch, re- 
mains tender and crisp through long season ; flavor ex- 
cellent; very easily grown. 

Denver Market : early, tight, conical head ; light green, 
leaves curled and crimped; crisp and tender; very slow 
to go to seed. 

New York Head : immense round head ; outer leaves 
dark ; head white, crisp, and good flavor ; popular in south- 
ern California. 

Black-seeded Simpson : a non-heading variety, leaves al- 
most white and very large ; stands heat well. 

Of these varieties the first two named have been the 
main dependence of San Francisco market gardeners for 
years. The Hanson and Prize Head are more used by 
home gardeners. New York Head has become widely 
popular as "Los Angeles Lettuce," and is a favorite in 
the trade. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
MELONS. 

The Cantaloup or Muskmelon. — Cucumis molo,. 

French, melon ; German, melone ; Dutch, meloen ; Italian, 
popone ; Spanish, melon ; Portuguese, melao. 

The Watermelon. — Citrullus vulgaris. 

French, melon d'eau; German, wasser-melone ; Italian, 
cocomero ; Spanish, sandia ; Portuguese, melamia. 

From the manner in which they are eaten melons should 
be classed with fruits ; from the manner in which they are 
grown they are more closely related to vegetables. Their 
nearest botanical relatives, also, are of the vegetable class. 
They evidently cannot be excluded from this work be- 
cause of their aspiration to rank with the fruits. 

California is characteristically great for melons ; not 
only- for their great size and excellence, but for the long 
season during which they are available for table use. 
Their delight in interior heat, their tolerance of drought, 
their immense size, when both heat and moisture combine 
for their advancement, constitute exceptional adaptations 
for semi-tropical climates, in which they have been famous 
from the earliest times. California answers their needs to 
the fullest degree, and they have .naturally attained great 
local esteem and poi:>ularity. Recently the California can- 
taloup has figured largely in the overland trade. 

THE MUSKMELON. 

In the United States the terms "muskmelon" and "can- 
taloup" are interchangeable, and in California cantaloup 
is given the preference. Of the many types of cantaloups 
which have been defined by students of melon classifica- 
tion a single one, known as the Rocky Ford, from the 
place of its large commercial development in Colorado, 



278 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

dominates all others, commanding nearly all the acreage 
and constituting almost exclusively the commercial pro- 
duction except that which is especially grown for local 
markets. 

The muskmelon has a very wide range in California. It 
has greater taste for dry heat than its relative, the cucum- 
ber, but in this respect it is no rival of the watermelon, for 
it will perish utterly under drought which the watermelon 
will survive. Where the muskmelon has both heat and 
moisture, it grown riotously, for a weight of 72 pounds 
has been reported from Fresno. But the muskmelon will 
not brook frost, nor will it thrive with low temperatures 
even if they are considerably above freezing. California 
has, however, such a long frost-free period and as degrees 
of favoring heat arrive in different months in different 
parts of the State, there is wide divergence in dates of 
planting and of ripening of the crop. The earliest canta- 
loup district is the Coachella and Imperial valleys in the 
extreme southeast corner of the State. Planting is done 
in February and the crop shipment begins in IMay and 
reaches the Eastern markets in advance of the product of 
Colorado and other interior States. In the San Joaquin 
valley planting may be in April and the product follows 
the Kocky Ford shipments for the later summer trade of 
the Atlantic cities. Just what can be profitably done at 
different dates in the East is not fully determined, but the 
advantage of the very early cantaloup from California 
seems unquestioned. It is clear, however, that by choos- 
ing different parts of the State and different varieties of 
cantaloups, including the 'Svinter melon" class, Cali- 
fornia can furnish the fruit from May to December in any 
(piantities the available prices make profitable. 

Garden Culture. — The soil requirements of the musk- 
melon are quite like those already described for the cu- 
cumber. Most of the commercial crop is produced on 
deep, rich, warm loams, but heavier soils with good cul- 
ture may be used. Some varieties seem to enjoy a heavy 
soil better than others. Preparation of the soil is the same 



w: 



■ tv, ■■■, '• ■;■ ' ^^. - '» 

^: ■ ;•■ V •■ '• ;- A* 



M: Ji 






■- r^;-//^'^./ ■■'f.5^'- 



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280 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

as for cucumbers, and the same methods for starting 
plants for planting out as well as for furnishing warmth 
and richness in the hill may be used in garden practice. In 
the interior, on the naturally rich loams, not only is the 
culture devoid of all forcing devices, but on moist river 
bank or bottom soils the early crop is sometimes grown 
without irrigation. For summer planting and the con- 
tinuation of the muskmelon supply late ni the fall, ample 
moisture is necessary, and a modification of interior heat 
by intrusion of coast breezes is desirable. The late sum- 
mer product is most easily grown in the coast valleys, 
somewhat protected from ocean winds. 

Field Culture. — There are so many ways of handling the 
soil to secure fine tillage and aeration and adequate mois- 
ture without the evil of surface flooding that it can be 
hardly claimed that any one routine is best. As involv- 
ing tillage, irrigation by percolation and fertilization, 
which the plant enjoys under proper conditions, the fol- 
lowing outline, condensed from the writings of Dr. R. H. 
Forbes, of the Arizona Station, is very suggestive for Cali- 
fornia interior valley conditions. The writer has made 
some additions from his own observations: Cantaloups 
are grown to excellent advantage on light warm loams 
properly fertilized by the addition of the organic matter 
and nitrogen in which our desert soils are usually defici- 
ent. Heavy soils may also be used for cantaloup culture, 
but are less easily prepared and tilled during the progress 
of the crop. Old alfalfa ground is most excellent for can- 
taloup culture, and well rotted barnyard manure is effec- 
tive. Bermuda sod plowed up and exposed to the sun 
without irrigation the preceding summer makes excellent 
cantaloup ground, the intensive cultivation necessary serv- 
ing both to benefit the crop and to restrain this formidable 
weed. Trash from sod-turning can be reduced by the use 
of a disk. 

Alkaline lands should be avoided, since soluble salts in 
excess, even though insufficient to kill the plants, are com- 



IRRIGATING CANTALOUPS. 281 

monly believed to be detrimental to the quality of the 
melons. 

The land should be so laid out that the rows may be irri- 
gated without submerging the vines and the fruit. One 
good way to accomplish this, and also to fertilize the soil, 
is as follows : The field is first irrigated, plowed and har- 
rowed to a condition of fine tilth. With a 12-inch plow, at 
intervals of six feet, double furrows are then broken out, 
going and returning along the same lines. In the deep, 
wide furrows thus formed well rotted barnyard manure is 
distributed to a depth of three or four inches, then plowed 
in and the field again harrowed level. By then plowing 
toward the middle of the spaces between the fertilized 
furrows, the soil is finally left in oval ridges separated by 
back furrows for irrigation. The rough furrows and 
ridges are then finished with a harrow and the newly pre- 
pared ground irrigated to establish the water line for 
guidance in planting. 

Seed should be most carefully selected with reference to 
flavor and appearance of the fruit ; to good shipping char- 
acters, including small cavities and heavy netting ; and to 
a tendency to produce melons of standard size. About 
one pound of seed is required for an acre. Cantaloup seed 
improves to some extent with time, and is stated by ex- 
perienced growers to give more satisfaction at two years 
of age than at one. 

With irrigating furrows six feet apart, rows may be 
planted one on each side of each furrow. The hills should 
be ten feet apart in the rows, "breaking spaces" between 
rows. On this plan the ground will be quite uniformly 
occupied, with a distance of about six feet between ad- 
jacent hills. Where winds are strong and prevalently in 
one direction it is sometimes desirable to lay off the lands 
at right angles to the course of the wind and plant all the 
hills on the windward side of each strip so that the vines 
are trained by the wind away from the ditch and not half 
of them blown into it. 

With a hoe each hill is planted by making a small fur- 



282 



CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



row a foot long just above the water line, made by the pre- 
ceding irrigation which places the hill where it will not 
be flooded by later irrigation. About ten seeds are dropped 




in this furrow, covered an inch deep, and the soil pressed 
down lightly with the blade of the hoe. After early plant- 
ings, when frosts are feared, a second set of hills may be 
planted alongside the first, ten days or two weeks later. 



VARIETIES OF CANTALOUPS. 283 

When danger from frost is past, while the plants are still 
small they are thinned to one or two of the strongest to 
each hill. Care must be taken not to overcrowd the ground 
with vines, as a high percentage of small melons will fol- 
low. Under Arizona conditions the six-foot spacing of 
hills recommended above, with not more than two plants 
in the hill, gives best results. 

A dependable supply of irrigating water is essential to 
successful cantaloup culture in regions of little rain. Early 
in the season when the plants are small and the irrigating 
supply is cold, water should be applied sparingly. But be- 
tween the setting of the crop and the ripening of the first 
fruits, when both vines and melons are developing rapidly 
and when the weather is usually hot and dry, frequent 
and copious irrigation is necessary, for if water is stinted 
at this time a large percentage of small or pony melons is 
likely to follow. During the picking season water should 
again be sparingly applied — just enough to prevent the 
vines from wilting. This also gives quality and solidity to 
the melons. 

As long as the vines will permit, the middles should 
be kept free of weeds by means of a one-horse cultivator, 
and the furrows run through with a small plow after each 
irrigation. The young plants should also be hoed by hand 
two or three times. When the ground is once well covered 
with vines weeds will make but little headway, even Ber- 
muda grass being effectually checked by the dense cover. 

Varieties. — The wonderful advancement of the canta- 
loup as a commercial product during the last decade has 
quickened effort for new varieties and given new incen- 
tive to sharp selection to secure characters likely to facili- 
tate long shipment or to increase the demand. Relatively 
small size, symmetrical form, thickness of flesh and reduc- 
tion of the seed-cavity, durability, flavor and color of 
flesh are among the improvements which have been dili- 
gently sought. Each year brings forward something new 
and worthy of trial to determine local behavior and suit- 
ability. Obviously a book which aims to be useful for a 



284 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

number of years after its publication cannot satisfactorily 
serve fis a guide to choice of varieties which are constantly 
changing. Annual catalogues of California seedsmen 
should be carefully consulted and every grower should 
try all promising novelties on a small scale. 

Rocky Ford : The variety upon which the Colorado can- 
taloup industry is established and it sustains the same re- 
lation to the commercial-product of California; developed 
by selection from the old "Netted Gem"; slightly oval, 
finely netted, average weight 1% pounds ; flesh green, 
thick and very sweet. Continued selection is being prac- 
ticed upon this variety and "Netted Rock" has been fa- 
vored in this State on the claim of heavy bearing and 
greater average production of standard melons. 

Burrell 's Gem : Larger than Rocky Ford ; flesh reddish 
and of different flavor ; an improved Paul Rose, which it 
has largely displaced. 

Hoodoo : slightly flatter than Rocky Ford but otherwise 
similar ; flesh reddish. 

Large Yellow : an old variety, large oblong, slightly 
ribbed and coarsely netted ; flesh light, yellowish green ; 
quality excellent; still popular though very different from 
modern commercial types. 

California Large Nutmeg: an old variety still popular 
in local markets and good for shipping ; large, rough, net- 
ted skin ; flesh thick, solid, dark green ; flavor delicate. 

Montreal Improved Green Nutmeg : large, slightly flat- 
tened at the poles, densely netted skin, flesh thick and of 
good flavor. 

Early Hackensack : large size, productive, excellent 
flavor. 

Large Hackensack : large size, roundish, very prolific, 
thick, juicy flesh, rich in flavor. 

Cassaba, or Pineapple : fine, large, late variety, rich, 
cream-colored flesh ; keeps well into the winter. 

The small, early varieties, like Jenny Lind, are not 
largely grown, as the trade prefers the large nutmeg va- 



THE WATERMELON. 285 

rieties. The small varieties are, however, very desirable 
for home use. 

The Winter Melons. — One of the most interesting and 
promising phases of melon growing in California is the ad- 
vancement of the "winter melon," comprising several 
types, of which the first to reach California was the Cas- 
saba or pineapple melon which was introduced in two va- 
rieties : one by the late General Bidwell, of Chico, in 1869. 
and another by the late Dr. J. D. B. Stillman in 1878. Of 
these the latter has secured the greater popularity. Later 
introductions and selections and probably hybridizations 
also, have brought half a dozen quite distinct varieties into 
notice and a considerable product has been secured both 
for local sale and distant shipment during the late autumn 
and early winter. Which varieties will survive cannot be 
told and in this line California seedsmen's catalogues must 
be consulted each year. On irrigated lands these melons 
can be sown in mid-summer and find ample autumn heat 
and freedom from frost to reach perfection. The ripe 
fruit remains in good condition for months without cold 
storage. 

THE WATERMELON. 

The watermelon is more strictly a warm region plant 
than the muskmelon. It reaches great size and sweetness 
in interior regions of highest heat, coming nearer to the 
coast in southern California thm in the upper part of the 
State. The heat is, however, high enough in some of the 
coast valleys and foothills, which are in some part sepa- 
rated from the coast by high ranges, to produce a very 
good watermelon. 

The gratefulness of the interior climate of California to 
the watermelon is seen in the way the plants volunteer 
wherever on cultivated land a melon may have gone to 
decay. In cultivated orchard they may almost be called 
weeds, though sometimes the volunteer crop is turned to 
account. A case is cited where watermelons were planted 
between the trees in a young orchard. After the melons 



286 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

were harvested, and before the volunteer crop appeared 
the following year, the ground was plowed twice, har- 
rowed twice, and cultivated four times in the regular 
course of orchard work. Notwithstanding all this dis- 
turbance of the soil, the seeds, which remained in the 
ground during the warm rains of winter and spring, did 
not sprout until June — considerably later than seed sown 
that year, and produced as good a crop as the latter. Be- 
ing, probably, deeply covered they awaited the penetra- 
tion of the warmth, which came first to the seed sown near 
the surface. The soil was a light loam, naturally well 
drained, and the seed abided its time in good condition. 

Soils. — Soils which best suit the watermelon are warm 
alluvial soils, and the plant thrives on a lighter, drier soil 
than suits the muskmelon. It does well on a light soil 
with a retentive sub-soil, which acts as a reservoir of mois- 
ture. In such a case the surface soil may be coarse or 
even gravelly. Good specimens have been shown which 
have been grown without irrigation on recent deposits of 
mining detritus ; on the other hand, good melons are 
grown on rather stiff clay loam. On heavy land much is 
gained by plowing under a winter-grown sod or green 
crop, or a covering of manure, which renders the soil more 
permeable as well as enriches it. The plant seems to tol- 
erate many conditions, but neither cold nor wet agrees 
with it. 

Culture. — The preparation of land for watermelons is 
like that for sugar beets, already described. In regions of 
heavy rainfall the fall plowing should be done with enough 
dead furrows to remove surplus water so that the spring 
plowing may not be delayed by wetness. Two spring 
plowings and pulverizations are desirable on the heavier 
soils. 

The land is laid off with a marker in six or eight feet 
squares, and planted, after danger from frost is over and 
the ground is warm, with 10 or 12 seeds in a place to cover 
accidents and insects. These are reduced at the first hoe- 
ing to one or two plants in a place. The cultivator should 



VARIETIES OF WATERMELON. 287 

be used as soon as possible to prevent crusting of the soil, 
and cultivation should be kept up until it interferes too 
much with the growth of the vines. During the first two 
months of their growth the cultivator is almost constantly 
running in the melon fields. 

Time of planting is, of course, dependent upon the frost 
record of the locality. To get the earliest melons, grow- 
ers often take the chance of replanting by planting in 
March if it is an early spring and the soil is in good con- 
dition. In light interior soils the most of the planting is 
done in April, and in frosty situations early in May. For 
succession, planting can proceed on moist or irrigated land 
until July, and in frostless locations July planting will 
give ripe melons as late as New Year's. 

Harvesting". — When early sowings succeed, melons can 
be had in June in the interior, but the weight of the crop 
comes in July or August. An average yield in field cul- 
ture is one carload, or one hundred dozen melons to the 
acre. Sizes run from a common merchantable size of 20 
pounds up to a monster of 131% pounds, grown in Los 
Angeles county many years ago. Melons of 90 to 100 
pounds have been reported from all regions which make 
any pretentions to greatness in this line. 

Varieties. — Everything offered by seedsmen in the form 
of an improved watermelon is quickly put into California 
soil. The result is that in the State as a whole very many 
varieties are grown, probably as many as of any single 
garden plant. Still a few varieties are easily leading in 
popularity. The most famous variety in the central part 
for the last quarter of a century has been the "Lodi, " a 
variety believed to be of local origin, taking its name from 
the locality where largely grown, in San Joaquin county, 
but the Lodi is now yielding even in its own region to 
other varieties, and its decadence is probably in part due 
to lack of proper selection in seed sowing on the part of 
the growers, and the superiority of newer sorts. 
' Florida Favorite : large, oblong, deep green, mottled ; 
good flavor and a good early variety and a good shipper. 



288 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Fordhook Early: very early, medium size, globular, 
tough deep mottled green rind, red flesh ; good for early 
shipping. 

Dixie : large and handsome, dark green, beautifully 
striped, hardy and productive, sweet, juicy, and tender, 
scarlet flesh. A good shipping variety. 

Cuban Queen : large, symmetrical, solid, rind thin and 
strong, striped with dark and light green, flesh red, tender, 
and very sweet, vine very strong in growth and produc- 
tive. Melons keep well and ship well. 

Mammoth Ironclad: resembles Cuban Queen in mark- 
ings; melons uniformly large, with hard, tough rind, flesh 
very red and solid, productive, and a good shipper. 

Kolb Gem : round, dark green, with light green stripes, 
which are narrow and of dull color, fair size, flesh bright 
red and good flavor, tough rind and a good shipper. 

Iceberg: like Kolb Gem, but darker green and flesh 
deep red ; a good shipper. 

Southern Eattlesnake : oblong, light green, beautifully 
striped, thin rind, flesh scarlet, solid, and very sweet. 

Lodi : large, solid, light green, flesh deep red, rich and 
delicious, and extending to within half an inch of the rind. 
For many years this variety almost controlled California 
markets and is still largely grown. 

Mountain Sweet : large, long, flesh red, firm and sweet ; 
good for home garden. 

Peerless : nearly round, pale green, thin rind, red flesh, 
very sweet. 

Chilian : oblong, deep green, mottled and striped, flesh 
bright red, sweet and high quality ; good for home use 
because of thin, brittle rind. 

Kleckley Sweet: medium sized, oval, dark green, flesh 
bright red, high quality, largely grown in central Cali- 
fornia for home use and shipping. 

Ice Cream : very large, long, solid deep green, flesh 
deejD pink. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
THE ONION FAMILY. 

Onion. — Allkim cepa. 

French, ognon ; German, zwiebel; Dutch, uijen ; Danish, 
voglog; Italian, cipolla; Spanish, cebolla; Portuguese, 
cebola. 

Leek. — Allium porrum. 

French, poireau ; German, lauch ; Dutch, i^rei ; Danish, 
porre ; Italian, porro ; Spanish, puerro ; Portuguese, alho 
porro. 

Garlic. — Allium sativum. 

French, ail; German, knoblauch; Dutch, knoflook; 
Danish, hvidlog ; Italian, aglio ; Spanish, ajo ; Portuguese, 
alho. 

Chives. — Allium schoenoprasum. 

French, ciboulette, civette ; German, schnittlauch ; 
Dutch, bieslook ; Italian, cipollina ; Spanish, cebollino. 

Ciboule. — Allium fstulosum. 

French, ciboule ; German, schnitt-zwiebel ; Dutch, bies- 
look ; Danish, purlog ; Italian, cipolleta ; Spanish, cebol- 
leta; Portuguese, cebolinah. 

Shallot. — A Ilium ascalonicum. 

French, echalote ; German, schalotte ; Dutch, sjalot; 
Danish,- skalottelog ; Italian, scalogno ; Spanish, chalote ; 
Portuguese, echalota. 

The onion is another of the great vegetables in Califor- 
nia — great in the size of the tubers and in the crop, great 
also in the ease with which a constant supply of fresh 
onions can be secured throughout the year in the oj^en air ; 
greater still, perhaps, in the fact that the superb local 
conditions for onion-seed growing have given California 
the power to set prices for the onion-seed trade of the 



290 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

United States, and we have sometimes prodnced more seed 
than could be sold with profit to the growers. Though 
the local consumption of onions, in proportion to the popu- 
lation, is large, and though there is an export trade in all 
directions, there is now and then an over-production and a 
reaction even to scarcity, so that the market price is sub- 
ject to wide fluctuations. A more trustworthy demand 
would develop a producing capacity w^hich has thus far 
hardly been entered upon although during recent years 
distant shipment of onions has notably increased. The 
California onion product sometimes exceeds 300,000 s<iek;s 
per year. 

Though local conditions are favorable, and almost in- 
credible returns are sometimes secured, onion growing is 
exacting in its requirements in California, as everywhere, 
and the crop is one which no one should undertake with- 
out adequate resources of energy, patience, promptness 
and elasticity — either in his back or in his pocketbook. 
No matter how well suited his soil, or how good his stand 
of young plants upon it, a few days' neglect may put 
them out of sight in a forest of weeds, from which they 
cannot be profitably rescued. Still, to the diligent grower 
who can command suitable soil and the labor needed at a 
certain time, and is prompt and persistent in the use of it, 
there is always the promise of as fair a crop as man needs 
to see, for the climate not only favors growth, maturing 
and harvesting, but it gives the plant freedom from many 
pests and diseases, which are grievous in other countries. 

Situations and Soils. — The onion is profited by a long 
growing season. It grows most luxuriantly and its bulb 
expands most freely in a moderate temperature and with 
a good moisture supply. It endures heat well, if moisture 
is ample ; it is easily forced into maturity by drought, and 
though it is fortunate, in some respects, that the bulb has 
the power to renew its growth and reach full size with the 
renewal of moisture, this is little consolation to the grower 
who aimed at a crop of marketable onions, not of onion 
sets. It is important, then, that the growth of the plant 



SOILS FOR THE ONION. 291 

be not arrested in this way, and. to assure this, moisture 
must be adequate until satisfactory size is attained. Land 
naturally moist, or in which a good supply may be re- 
tained by cultivation, or for which irrigation is available 
to counteract natural tendency to dryness, is necessary 
for the full success of the onion as a mature crop. In the 
winter, if rains are up to the average, very good growth 
of green onions can be had on land which is too dry in 
summer to carry the liulV) to full-sized maturity. For 
satisfactory summer finishing of the crop, soils which are 
prone to dry out must be avoided, unless irrigation is 
available. How this matter is affected by methods of 
propagation will appear presently. 

If the needed moisture can be afforded, onions can be 
well grown on a variety of soils. Quite heavy adobe can 
be made to do, but it will be at the cost of most thorough 
cultivation, producing tilth which is difficult and expen- 
sive to attain on such soil. Every addition of sand or silt 
to the adobe improves it in this respect, and the ideal soil 
for the onion is one which is retentive enough under culti- 
vation to keep the plant roots from a touch of drought, 
and friable enough to be easy in cultivation and easy also 
for the expanding bulb to displace as it grows. The bulb 
should expand on the ground surface, not under it, and it 
is very difficult to secure this on a clay without baking 
of the surface, which dries the roots and results in pre- 
maturity and small size in the bulb. On the other hand, 
sandy soil is usable only at a cost of frequent irrigation, 
for it also loses surface moisture in spite of stirring. Be- 
sides suitable mechanical condition of the soil, it is essen- 
tial that it shall be rich in plant food. Onions resent a 
poor soil. Fortunately^ California has large areas of loam, 
of mixed peat and sediment, and of alluvial soils, which 
are so rich that many onion crops can be grown without 
fertilizing, but in garden work the free use of manure is 
the secret of quick, tender and large size, both in the 
green and mature onion. But the use of fresh manure 
just before planting is not desirable and even well rotted 



292 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES, 

manure should be applied several months in advance of 
planting that it may become thoroughly incorporated 
with the soil. 

The great onion regions of the State are the lower 
stretches of the rich coast valleys and the moist river 
lands in the interior. Fine onions for local use are grown 
on upland loams, with or without irrigation, according to 
local climatic conditions. All these classes of lands are 
distributed throughout the State. 

Propagation of the Onion. — The onion is grown here, as 
elsewhere, by three main lines of propagation : from seed 
sown in the field; from transplanted seedlings and from 
sets. The last is by far the least important in California, 
and the choice between the other two depends upon the 
special end in view, as will appear in the discussiim of 
them. 

The Crop from Seed. — In this ease the growth is to be 
pushed continuously on the same ground from seed to 
sack. The main crop is grown in this way, and for this 
method California has manifest advantage in its long 
growing season. Field-sowing can be done as early as 
February, and on retentive soils moisture can be held by 
summer cultivation, or on coarser soils by irrigation and 
cultivation, until the bulbs reach as large a size as is de- 
sirable for marketing. 

For seed-sowing the land should be as deeply and 
thoroughly prepared as has already been prescribed for 
sugar beets. The work should begin with fall plowing to 
open the surface for absorption of rainfall, to be followed 
later by a deep cross-plowing to fully turn in the crop of 
weeds and grass which will come with moisture. After 
that a shallow plowing or cultivation may be given to 
kill later growth of weeds and to contribute to surface 
pulverization. The seed should be sown when the advance 
of the season warms the soil. The precise date depends 
upon two considerations: first, the local rainfall, and, 
second, the local weed growth. Where spring rains are 
usually light, earlier sowing is best; where spring rains 



GROWING ONIONS FROM SEED. 293 

are usually generous and where weed growth is great, it 
is often wise to defer sowing and use the cultivator for 
weed-killing, so that the ground may be as clean as pos- 
sible before the seed is sown. Weeding onions is one of 
the most expensive and tiresome of all field practices, and 
it is good policy, where moisture is ample, to sow much 
later in the spring for the advantage of securing cleaner 
land, as well as to prevent the growth of "thick-necks" 
or scallions which though edible are not good keepers nor 
good marketable tubers. Each locality has its own policy 
in this respect, which can be learned by conference with 
experienced growers. 

When the sowing time comes be sure the land is fined 
well. Use nothing but the freshest seed from responsible 
dealers ; mark out a straight line for beginning and sow 
the seed with a seeder with a guide so that the straight- 
ness of the first row may be followed in the others. If the 
rows begin to vary from this, strike another straight line 
and proceed again from this. Distance between the rows 
depends upon the method of cultivation to be adopted; 
some are grown with two feet distance and horse cultiva- 
tion is used, but most growers choose a distance of 12 to 
16 inches and use hand cultivation. The hand hoes, or 
cultivators with wheels, work very easily and rapidly in 
light soils. Care must be taken to work them deeply 
enough to produce a good soil mulch. 

Depth of covering the seed depends upon season, mois- 
ture and character of soil, as explained on page 157. 
With onions the depth would vary from one-half an inch 
on heavy soil to one inch on light, or slightly more on 
light soil in a dry locality, is about the range. The seeder 
should be set to drop the seeds about three-quarters of an 
inch apart in the drill, which will use from four to five 
pounds to the acre. After sowing, the ground can be 
.firmed in any of the ways mentioned on page 158. A light 
roller is most expeditious and satisfactory if the soil is in 
the right condition of moisture. 

Onion seed is sometimes rather slow in starting and the 



294 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

cultivation should not wait until the plants appear. Mr. 
S. J. Murdock, of Orange county, shows how skillfully 
the hand wheel hoe can be used in the onion field. 

"After seeding, thorough, shallow cultivation is essen- 
tial. Do not wait until the plants are uj) before begin- 
ning; from four to eight days will be proper, or when the 
seed begins to show signs of germinating, which can be 
ascertained by carefully brushing the soil from the drill 
row. I put the curved hoes on my wheel hoe, with the 
straight ends of the hoes pointing inwards and lapping 
about two inches and hoe right over the rows but not 
deep enough to disturb the seed. It saves a great amount 
of hand-weeding by killing the weeds just starting to 
grow in the rows. As soon as the onions are up suffici- 
ently to follow the rows, I reverse my hoes, with the 
curved ends next to the rows, just far enough apart so 
as to hoe as close as possible without cutting the young 
plants by running the hoes astride the rows. This op- 
eration hoes both sides of the row at one trip of the ma- 
chine. Follow this by hand-weeding; this operation is 
best performed by the crawling process, that is, by get- 
ting down on hands and knees astride of a row and pull- 
ing every weed in sight, and loosening the soil around 
and between the plants. Repeat this as often as any 
weeds are to be found, and under no circumstances allow 
the weeds to grow above the onions ; at the same time 
keep the wheel hoe at work between the rows and as 
close as possible." 

As previously said, the bulb of the onion should be at 
the ground surface, and the dirt should not be thrown to 
any extent on the onions by cultivation. The roots should 
be well covered, but not the bulb. 

Transplanted Onions. — Next to growth from the seed, 
the transplanting of small seedlings from the seed-bed to 
the field, is most practiced in California. This method has 
recently been proclaimed in the Eastern and Southern 
States as a "new onion culture," but it is really an old 
practice in the south of Europe, and has been followed in 



TRANSPLANTING ONIONS. 295 

California for a third of a century or more in preference 
to starting from onion sets. It is a fact that transplant- 
ing produces more uniformly large onions than growth 
from the seed in place, and the crop also reaches maturity 
sooner, as the transplanting does not sacrifice the time 
gained by the earlier start in the seed-bed. Employing 
th-ese two points of advantage in a region suitable to quick 
winter growth, a very early crop of mature onions is se- 
cured, which sometimes strikes a bare market and is very 
profitable, while the regular crop, coming in later, may be 
worth much less. 

Seedlings for transplanting are grown in California in 
the open air, according to the conditions for germination 
described on pages 156 to 160. Where there is likelihood 
of heavy rains the raised bed described in the chapter on 
cultivation is a safeguard, but where the soil naturally 
drains well, or where rain is light, such arrangement is 
not necessary. Nor is it necessary that the culture should 
be very deep. The seed is started in the fall, when the 
rate of evaporation is reduced. Shallow culture promotes 
early growth and, if the soil has been previously deeply 
moistened, there is no need. of such deep work as would 
be desirable if the plant was to pursue its full course in 
that place. 

Some growers use a little bottom heat by covering in 
fresh horse manure with the plow and shallow working 
the surface into fine tilth. This practice is not essential. 
It is best suited to heavy soil and ample moisture ; it has 
an element of danger on light soil with scant moisture. 
The seed is sown at difi^erent times in different localities 
from September to November — the early date in northern 
California, for the rains come earlier, the w^eather is cooler 
and the plants of slower growth. In the south a later 
start agrees better with the rainfall, and more rapid 
growth brings the seedling to planting-size in less time. 

The seed is usually thickly sown broadcast, lightly cov- 
ered and rolled or pressed down. The surface is protected 
fom drying and from packing by heavy rain, with a light 



296 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

mulch of fine manure, covered with boards until the 
shoots appear, or covered with a single thickness of old 
sacking until the shoots begin to pierce it. Any device 
which keeps the surface moist and loose is applicable. 
The plants usually reach a height of six or eight inches at 
time of transplanting. 

Transplanting.' — Transplanted onions are usually grown 
on lighter soils than those from seed because the crop is to 
mature earlier and is not so dependent upon moisture re- 
tention. Again the lighter, warmer soils give the most 
rapid winter growth, as already stated. Preparation of 
the land is the same as for seed sowing and the transplant- 
ing is done at about the same time of the year — from 
February onward, according to local climate and soil con- 
ditions. The plants are pulled, if the seed-bed is sandy, 
and they lift easily, or lifted with a shovel and separated. 
The top and roots are shortened about half the length of 
each, and the plants, dropped along the rows by boys, are 
set, with the finger or dibble, three inches apart in rows 
12 inches distant, pressing the soil firmly around the plant. 
Planting can be done by line or with a roller encircled by 
rope at proper distance or by marking out shallow fur- 
rows with the hand wheel hoe, etc. The lines must be 
straight for ease and efficiency of subsequent cultivation, 
which must be clean and thorough. 

The cost of growing seedlings and transplanting is more 
than field seed-sowing, but the weeding and cultivation 
of the former is less. If there is no particular rush about 
earliness, transplanting can be done after the most of the 
season's weed-starting is over. Some growers count this 
quite a gain. 

Growing from Sets. — There are at least three kinds of 
onion sets: "top sets" or buttons which form on the seed 
stem in the place of the seed, according to variety; "bot- 
tom sets," which are either small bulbs from thickly sown 
seed, prematurely ripened, or small bulbs which form be- 
side the old bulbs in some varieties. In California the 
varieties which habitually produce top or bottom sets in 



GROWING FROM SETS. 297 

connection with stem or bulb (the so-called "tree onion" 
and "potato onion"), are not grown to any extent. They 
are inferior to other varieties which are satisfactory in 
this climate. All onion sets have the habit of p;:'oceeding 
with their enlargement when placed in moist ground, but 
some growers find the bottom sets from seed are more 
likely to run to seed than top sets from the seed stem. Mr. 
Adams, of Calistoga, is in the habit of growing his own 
top sets in this way : 

"Plant the onions of the variety which produces top sets 
in the place of seed, eight or ten inches apart, with rows 
two feet apart; cultivate well and gather the sets when 
the seed-stalks are ripe or perfectly yellow. Let the sets 
get well dried, then store in a cool, dry place six or eight 
inches deep on a board floor and cover with clean, dry 
straw. Never put them in sacks, boxes or barrels, as they 
will most surely mold. 

"In growing onions from these top sets, I plant them as 
early in February as the ground is suitable, on the rich- 
est of my land; make the rows perfectly straight by using 
a strong garden line ; make rows one foot apart ; press the 
sets firmly into the mellow soil nearly or quite out of 
sight, placing them an inch or so apart. When they are 
aicely up, a good top dressing of fine, dry, decomposed 
.len manure sown broadcast and well hoed in, is most ex- 
cellent, especially just before a warm rain. A few weeks 
later a light dressing of ground bone, or unleached ashes, 
will forward them wonderfully, and in a short time you 
will have onions fit for an epicure. Thin out as wanted 
for use, or for the purpose of raising top sets for another 
year. ' ' 

The foregoing is obviously for garden, not for field 
practice. In fact, for field work, sets of any kind are not 
used to any extent in California. 

Bottom sets from seed are grown by sowing the seed 
thickly, allowing the plants to grow without thinning, and 
to mature by the drying of the ground, when about the 
size of marbles. These are then pulled, dried thoroughly 



298 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

on the surface of the ground and are then stored in a cool, 
dry place until planted. Recently considerable quantities 
of sets are fall grown in southern California for shipment 
to Texas to be there grown to maturity by early spring 
planting. 

Irrigation of Onions. — Though our onion crops are 
largely grown without irrigation, it is often desirable to 
use water to carry the summer growth to satisfactory size 
on coarse soils prone to dry out. Water can be applied 
by any of the methods described in the chapter on irriga- 
tion. Enough water should be used to secure thrifty, but 
not excessive, growth, and stirring of the ground after 
irrigation should only be delayed long enough to bring 
the soil into proper working condition. 

Sometimes transplanting is done in connection with ir- 
rigation. The plants are properly trimmed and placed in 
the trenches alongside the irrigating furrows, on a slant 
to keep the tops from the wet ground (made so by apply- 
ing the water). They will readily take root, when they 
may be straightened up by the hoe. Sometimes the water 
may be passed through the trenches, when the plants may 
be put in place by hand. 

Harvesting Onions. — In the maturing of the crop and 
the harvesting California has great advantage in a warm, 
dry summer and early fall. Mr. Murdock, of Orange 
county, gives these suggestions on harvesting : 

"When the tops have turned yellow and dried or shriv- 
eled up near the bulbs, and the majority have fallen over, 
the crop is ripe and ready to harvest. If on moist land 
they should be harvested at once, for if left long in the 
ground the moisture from below and heavy fogs of the 
coast region will soon cause them to start new roots, also 
a new growth of top, which would soon spoil the whole 
crop. On dry land, however, the summer crops can re- 
main quite a while without injury. 

"Harvesting is done by pulling two or more rows; lay 
the onions next to the standing rows, and when across 
the plot, turn round and pull a like number of rows and 



GARDEN ONIONS. 299 

lay with the ones previously pulled. This leaves them 
in a continuous pile across the field for topping, which is 
generally done with a sharp knife after the onions have 
laid a few days to more fully mature. While topping, 
the bulbs are usually thrown in heaps ready for market 
or to store away, as the grower may determine. It is best 
to sack or haul from the fields while the sun shines, as 
the onions should be perfectly dry in either case." 

Yield. — Ten tons per acre is a fair yield on good soil, 
well handled, but this amount is frequently exceeded and 
even 30 tons has been secured, according to credible testi- 
mony. 

Garden Culture of Onions. — Garden culture proceeds 
upon about the same lines as field work, and by methods 
already described. Due regard should be had for suc- 
cession, and by proper use of water in summer and of 
ridge or raised bed in early winter, it is practicable to 
have crisp, young onions all the year, and mature ones 
with but a very short season of storage. Onions have been 
matured from seed sown every month of the year, but the 
ripening was not reached every month because progress 
is slower at one time than at another. 

In the garden onions should have most generous treat- 
ment, for delicate flavor and crispness depend upon quick 
growth. The use of fertilizers in preparation of the soil, 
and of liquid manure during growth, are strong helps to- 
ward this. The onion accepts gratefully the richest man- 
ures if well decomposed and well mixed with the soil. 

The first top-onions in the fall can be grown by using 
bottom sets planted closely in the row just as soon as the 
ground is well moistened by early rains. The succession 
can be had by sowing seed at intervals, beginning at the 
same time the sets are put in and continued when the 
ground is in good condition until spring. 

The following method of growing sets for garden use 
is approved by the experience of Mr. F. Austin, of San 
Diego county, who grows fine vegetables for the love of 
it : Sow the seed in the spring, say March, not later than 



300 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

April, then as the plants develop in the drills which have 
been sown not too thick, and bepin to assume size and 
form of bulb, at both sides of the i-ow begin to remove the 
earth with the hoe, the object being to retard the growth 
of top and foi-m a "set" below. This is repeated, going 
along each side of the growing onions, removing the dirt 
and even cutting some of the roots a second time. The 
tops begin to wither but the bulb increases in size until 
finally you I'un the hoe entirely under the roots severing 
them and leaving the now new formed "sets" to dry for a 
few days, when you take them by the handful from the 
row and shake off the dirt and put them away under cover 
from sun in a cool place until, say, October. Then plant 
these "sets" and they will grow to onions fast and in 
advance of anything you can get from seed and give you 
large .juicy onions. 

Rotation. — The advantage of clean land for onions has 
been mentioned. This is often best secured by allowing 
onions to follow carrots or potatoes or corn. The cultiva- 
tion of these vegetables sprouts and kills many weeds, 
which are more easily handled in connection with those 
crops than with the onions. The cultivation also renders 
the soil more friable, Avhich is a prime requisite to the 
growth of onions. 

Intercropping. — Large quantities of onions are grown 
in strawberry regions, being irrigated incidentally in con- 
nection with the berries. The strawberry plants are on 
ridges in rows 18 or 20 inches apart ; the onion row be- 
tween the strawberry rows parallel thereto in the center 
of the ridge, the ridges being also 18 to 20 inches apart, so 
that the water runs down between the ridges. Onions 
are also grown between the trees in young orchard on rich, 
deep, moist, or irrigated land. This cannot be long con- 
tinued to advantage, as onions do not tak-e Ivindly to shade, 
but dcdiglit in full sunshine. 

Varieties. — Out of the nudtitude of varieties -a few have 
proved most serviceable and satisfactory for California 



VARIETIES OF ONIONS. 301 

conditions, and California seedsmen are constantly secur- 
ing improved types by selection : 

Barletta : very early, small, pure white, smooth and 
handsome; largely grown for pickling also for early top 
onions in garden culture. 

California Early Red : very early, large size, flattish, 
mild flavor ; not a good keeper. Chiefly grown by Italian 
market gardeners and the variety probably was introduced 
from Italy. 

New Queen or Pearl : small, early white, fine flavor. 
Chiefly grown for pickling and for top onions ; especially 
popular in southern California. 

Silver Skin or White Portugal ; silvery white, medium 
size, excellent flavor and esteemed for. table use. Small 
bulbs largely used for pickling. 

White Italian Tripoli : very large, flat, white, rapid 
grower and productive, ships well, approved in southern 
California as an early variety. 

Prize-Taker or Spanish King : very large and beautiful, 
rich straw color, flesh white, sweet and tender; productive 
and keeps well. 

Australian Brown : flat, light brown, a long keeper and 
good shipper; very productive on rich, sandy soil with 
ample moisture. 

Australian Brown Globe : popular in southern Califor- 
nia ; globular, light brown, heavy and ships well ; quick to 
maturity but a long keeper. 

White Bermuda: yellowish white, flat, very early, 
chiefly grown in southern California for early shipment. 

Red Bermuda : resembles White Bermuda, except in 
color. 

Flat Danvers : very early, yellow, considerably grown. 

Yellow Globe Danvers : large, round, yields well and 
keeps well^; solid and of good flavor. One of the main 
varieties in all parts of California. 

Red Wethersfield : large, round, slightly flattened, deep 
red with white flesh, strongly flavored, well adapted for 



302 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

low, moist soils, hardy. This and Danvers Globe consti- 
tute a main part of the California product. 

Tree-onion : a variety which produces top-sets instead 
of seed at the head of the seed stem. Used in garden cul- 
ture as already described. It serves a good purpose under 
certain conditions, but is very little used in this State. 

THE LEEK. 

California produces large quantities of leek seed for dis- 
tant sale, but the leek itself is but little grown in Cali- 
fornia, except by market gardeners, and its use is chiefly 
by citizens of foreign birth. The edible part is the 
blanched lower leaves of the plant. The culture is at first 
practically the same as that described for transplanted 
onions, except that the young leek plant is deeply set in 
a depression in friable soil, and as it grows the earth is 
drawn about the leaves, which are tightly sheathed to- 
gether so as to blanch them into the appearance of a thick 
white stem. Thus the later cultivation of the plant re- 
sembles that of celery. It is handiest in the garden to sow 
the seed in drills one foot apart, at intervals from fall to 
spring, so as to have a succession, and plant the seedlings 
when about the diameter of a goose quill, in the bottom 
of a drill or furrow several inches deep. The plants need 
wide spacing, say six to ten inches, for they reach con- 
siderable thickness and make large display of leaves. Cul- 
tivation gradually levels the ground. Leeks need ample 
moisture and good cultivation to attain fine size and ten- 
derness. If the blanching is not particularly cared for, 
the plants may be grown at the surface just as onions are, 
except for the greater distance the plant requires to de- 
velop. The leeks chiefly grown in California are the Large 
American Flag, of good, uniform size, and strong growth ; 
the Musselburgh, short, thick stem and large, broad leaves ; 
the Large Rouen, a large, strong variety, and the Mon- 
strous Caratan, with dark-colored foliage. 

GARLIC. 
What is said of the restricted local use of the leek ap- 



SEVERAL NEAR ONIONS. 303 

plies also to the garlic. It is grown with about the same 
cultivation as the onion, and the planting season is of the 
same duration. The method is by planting the bulblets, 
or ' ' cloves, ' ' taken out of the silvery skin which covers the 
bunch, and planted like onion sets about six inches apart 
in rows one foot distant from each other. It may also be 
grown by planting whole cases of sets one foot apart in 
the rows. The planting should be rather shallow and the 
soil should be light and well cultivated to allow the free 
expansion of the bulb. 

CHIVES. 

These are small plants, whose leaves have the onion 
flavor desired in cookery. They are grown from the small 
bulbs, and from thick clumps or an edging for permanent 
garden beds. The leaves are shorn off whenever desired, 
and are most excellent for giving a mild onion flavbr to 
salads and soups. 

CIBOULE. 

Another plant used like chives, but of taller growth, is 
the Welch onion, or ciboule. It makes no bulb, but seeds 
freely, and the plant develops rapidly to cutting condi- 
tion. The cultivation is the same as of onions grown from 

seed. 

SHALLOT. 

Both the bulbs and leaves of this plant are used to give 
the onion flavor in cookery. Propagation is the same as 
that of chives, by means of the small bulbs, and the cul- 
ture is the same as of onions grown from sets. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
PEAS. 

The Garden Pea. — Pisum sativum. 

Frencli, pois a ecosser; German, schal-erbsen ; Dutch, 
doperwten ; Danish, skaloerte ; Italian, piselli da sgranare ; 
Spanish, guisantes para desgranar; Portuguese, ervilhas 
de grao. 

The Lentil, — Lens esculenta. 

French, lentille ; German, linse ; Dutch, linze ; Danish, 
lindse ; Italian, lente ; Spanish, lenteja ; Portuguese, len- 
tilha. 

The Garbanzo or Chick Pea. — Cicer arietinum. 

French, pois cliiche ; German, kicher-erbse ; Italian, cece ; 
Spanish, garbanzos ; Portuguese, chiearo. 

Dry heat is offensive to the pea, and its occurrence im- 
poses the chief limitation to the success of this vegetable 
in California. The escape from this limitation consists in 
winter growth, as far as practicable, and in recourse to 
the coast region where atmospheric humidity is greatest 
and summer heat least. The pea is very hardy against 
frost, and this advantage goes far to compensate for its 
susceptibility to drought, because it enables it to thrive in 
the winter in the very places where it perishes in summer. 
The obvious deduction is that in regions dependent upon 
rainfall the garden planting of the pea must be as early in 
the fall as adequate moisture has reached the soil, and in 
regions where irrigation is available, it is desirable that 
the start should be made in advance of rainfall for the 
earliest product, and that other plantings follow for a suc- 
cession, until it is ascertained what is the latest date of 
sowing which will reach satisfactory maturity. If prac- 
tice proceed upon this basis, the pea will be seen to have 



CONDITIONS FOR PEA GROWING. 305 

a much longer season than in wintry climates, although, 
in some places, midsummer growth is impracticable. Most 
failures to realize this satisfaction with the pea are due 
to late planting and failure to recognize that, in many 
parts of the State, the pea is a winter and not a summer 
plant. 

In the growth of peas in the field most disappointments 
have followed the same misapprehension, and the interior 
has conceded a monopoly of pea conditions to the coast 
when the former can grow large amounts of forage, at 
least, by taking a different time of the year for it. For- 
tunately, this fact is coming to be better understood, and 
large fields of peas are now grown as winter feed for 
dairy cows and in the orchard to be plowed under early 
in the spring for green manuring, where only recently the 
pea was supposed to be unsuited to the climate. These 
remarks apply to the true pea, not to the so-called "cow- 
pea," which really belongs to the bean family and is very 
susceptible to frost injury. 

Soils and Situations for the Pea. — The pea succeeds on 
a wide variety of soils — a good, rich loam of sufficient re- 
tentiveness being the ideal. Where it is winter-grown, 
with moderate heat and ample moisture, lighter soils can 
be successfully used, because they are warmer and dispose 
of the surplus water more readily. Though the pea with- 
stands much frost, it needs warmth for rapid advance- 
ment, and for this reason the earliest peas, as, for ex- 
ample, peas for Christmas from September sowing, are 
grown where there is little frost, and hillsides are often 
used to escape the heavier frosts of the valley below. In 
moist bottom lands in the interior, and on uplands near the 
coast, peas naturally thrive much later in the season than 
on the interior plains and hillsides, and the latest green 
peas are grown in the moist lands of the coast valleys, 
moisture being retained by cultivation or supplied by ir- 
rigation, according to local conditions. By using these 
different situations green peas are available for city trade 
nearly the entire year. 



306 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Culture. — From what has been said it may be inferred 
that the pea at different times of the year is to be handled 
with all the arts for releasing or retaining moisture, which 
are described in the chapters on the planting season, drain- 
age and cultivation. The reader should study these, and 
choose the methods adapted to the soil and time of the 
year with which he expects to operate. Depth of plant- 
ing is also governed by these factors, as described in the 
chapter on propagation. The pea will thrive with deep 
covering, according to the soil and moisture — even to 
covering the seed in a plow furrow in a light soil — but 
in a heavier soil, with assurance of moisture, a single inch 
of depth may best favor its growth. Deep working of the 
soil is also, as a rule, acceptable to the pea and where the 
crop is to come late and to endure a measure of heat and 
drought, deep working in preparation and fine surface 
cultivation, as late as feasible without injury to the vines, 
is necessary. But, on the other hand, for fall and winter 
growth in some situations and soils, such thorough work 
may not be called for. For winter, too, it is not desirable 
that the surface should be worked to a fine mulch ; surplus 
water is relieved by evaporation and the surface is pre- 
vented from crusting, if a coarser condition is retained. 
The pea plant gives every possible advantage to the 
grower ; it is strong growing and hardy, and it has a large 
seed which makes a vigorous shoot. If the grower can 
give it escape from dry heat it will serve him well both in 
garden and field. 

It should be remembered, however, that the pea needs 
a certain amount of heat, though it be small, and there is 
nothing gained by sowing in cold, wet ground. In small, 
frosty valleys with heavy rainfall, sowing should often 
be delayed until the ground is warmed in February, 
though on slopes above such valleys much earlier work 
can often be done satisfactorily. The fitness of certain 
varieties for seasonal conditions will be considered pres- 
ently. 

For the Earliest Peas. — The earliest peas, counting the 



EARLY AND LATE PEAS. 307 

first of July as the beginning of the California season, are 
in picking condition in December, from seed sown in Aug- 
ust and September. Irrigate the land thoroughly, plow 
w^ell, harrow, and sow the seed with a drill as nearly as 
practicable an inch apart in rows two and a half feet dis- 
tant. Another way is to open a shallow furrow with a 
single plow, scatter the seed in the furrow, and cover with 
a cultivator, covering the seed and stirring the space be- 
tween the rows. In growing peas on hillsides for very 
early market, the foreigners, who are the chief growers, 
depend much upon hand work and bring the rows nearer 
together. Irrigation must be used from time to time to 
keep the soil from drying until the rains come and subse- 
quently if the rains are light. The plants must be pushed 
to bring well-filled pods and continual moisture is essen- 
tial. Cultivation, to keep the soil clean and mellow, is 
necessary. A light harrow can be safely used with peas 
even after the plants appear. After this the free use of 
the cultivator will be found profitable. 

Later Sowing. — Whether it will be profitable to arrange 
for a succession of peas in the early winter depends upon 
the local soil and climate. On light soils and in regions- 
of moderate rainfall and frost it is quite feasible, but in 
most regions December and January bring the lowest 
temperatures and the longest rainstorms of the year, and 
the ground is out of condition. The advent of February 
changes things enough to meet the requirements of the 
pea, and then the sowing for the spring and summer suc- 
cession may begin. At the first ridge or raised bed 
method will give safety against excessive water, but later 
sowings should be made for flat culture on soil most thor- 
oughly prepared and well cultivated afterward. 

Field Growth. — Where peas are sown for forage or for 
a crop of dry peas, sowing can be done broadcast on land 
which has been previously plowed and harrowed, and 
then the seed is covered with a shallow cross-plowing of 
the whole field. If the soil is friable and a good condi- 
tion of moisture, this leaves the surface well loosened and 



308 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

able to receive considerable rain without baking. This 
method answers well on light soils in the interior early 
winter, and the moist condition of the upper coast valleys 
is also satisfactory. In the upper coast valleys peas can 
be safely sown as late as May for summer crop and forage. 
Wherever heat or drouth and hard ground are likely to 
be encountered before the vines cover the ground, drill 
culture and cultivation are better. 

Peas in the Orchard. — It has already been mentioned 
that the winter growth of peas in the orchard for plowing 
under for green manure, is gaining popularity in this 
State. The pea has the power of appropriating atmos- 
pheric nitrogen and its growth in the winter in the 
warmer parts of the State may be effected with little loss 
of moisture to the trees. Growing the pea crop in the 
orchard to be gathered green for eanners' use has also 
been successfully done in this State, where the trees are 
small. The pea is probably one of the least injurious of 
the inter-cultures, and under certain conditions may be 
of actual benefit to the trees. For this purpose the crop 
should be gathered and the green vine plowed in as early 
.as possible. 

No Support for Peas. — Peas are chiefly groM^n as a pros- 
trate crop in California, both in garden and field. The 
preference is for the dwarf or medium high kinds and 
they are allowed to stand or mat down as they see fit. It 
better suits a climate where reclining on the ground very 
rarely induces mildew and where the covering of the 
ground assists in maintaining the coolness and moisture 
of soil which delights the pea. 

Varieties. — Of the two main divisions of pea varieties, 
the smooth and the wrinkled skins, the smooth are the 
more hardy and can be safely grown early. The smooth 
pea may resist decay and grow where the wrinkled seed 
will perish. And yet the wrinkled pea is so popular that 
wrinkled varieties have almost excluded the smooth kinds. 

Alaska : tall growing, small smooth pea ; pod short, well 
filled ; very early. 



VARIETIES OF PEAS. 309 

American Wonder : dwarf, wrinkled, very compact 
grow^th, productive and early, fine quality, very sweet ; the 
leading early pea in California. 

McLean's Little Gem: dwarf, wrinkled, very early, pro- 
ductive, rich and sweet. 

Nott's Excelsior: resembles American Wonder; larger 
growing and more productive ; fine quality, long bearing 
period, excellent home garden pea. 

Premium Gem : an improved Little Gem with larger 
pods. 

Yorkshire Hero (also called Alameda Sweet) : later than 
dwarf varieties ; most popular in all parts of the State for 
main crop ; strong grower, with branching habit ; large 
pods well filled with large, wrinkled peas ; keeps in con- 
dition on vine longer than other varieties. 

Pride of Cahuenga (renamed in southern California, 
where it has been grown for 20 years) : branches freely 
and very productive and pods large ; peas large and finely 
flavored. 

Stratagem: strong grower, semi dwarf, with large, 
showy pods ; peas large and of good flavor ; very popular 
with growers and the trade ; a late variety. 

Champion of England : well-known late variety, largely 
used b}^ canners; rich, high quality. 

Telephone : late, very productive, large pods ; peas 
sugary ; largely grown both for market and home use. 

Edible Pod or Sugar Peas. — ^Although California inter- 
est is almost wholly centered in the shelling varieties of 
peas, there has recently been some attention paid in home 
gardens to the edible pod varieties which are used in the 
kitchen as are string or snap beans. They are available 
because of their hardiness at times of the year when string 
beans can only be had from frostless regions if at all. 
Their culture is the same as for other kinds of peas. 

LENTILS AND CHICK PEAS. 

Though of another botanical genus, lentils are best 
classed with peas. They are quite hardy and make a good 



310 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

winter growth. They may be used green as peas are, but 
are hardly as desirable. The dry seeds are used in soups, 
stews, etc. Lentils are rarely seen in California, probably 
because peas are preferred, not only because of flavor, but 
because of more easy handling. The lentil bears but two 
seeds in a pod. Owing to their early winter growth they 
may come into use here for cattle food as in Europe. 

Another two-seeded pod bearer is the garbanzo or chick 
pea, which is a hairy plant of the vetch family. Its uses 
are like those of lentils, but it has also served widely as a 
coffee substitute. Its culture is easy, like the pea in 
method, but the product is always used dry or mature. 
The plant is more hardy against drouth than the peas. Its 
production in California is small, but seems to be in- 
creasing. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
PEPPERS. 

Chile Pepper. — Capsicum aniitium. 

French, piment; German, pfeffer; Dutch, Spaansche, 
peper ; Italian, peperone ; Spanish, pimiento ; Portuguese, 
pimento. 

The settlement of California by people of Spanish birth 
or descent naturally brought the pepper into early promi- 
nence in this State, and the considerable fraction of our 
population Avhich now traces to south of Europe nations 
serves to hold the plant in popularity. American citizens 
have also wide liking for the pepper in some of its uses, 
and the result is large local demand for the capsules both 
in green and mature states. There is this main division 
in the demand — the northern races prefer the large, green, 
mild varieties ; the southern races chiefly use that which is 
ripe, red, and fiery in flavor. But of course this distinction 
is not to be pushed too far. Each kind has its uses which 
are observed by all consumers. In the California markets 
the two kinds or conditions stand side by side in such 
quantities as to make them conspicuous. 

Though the pepper is usually an annual, it carries its 
profitable productive life into the second year in the 
thermal regions of the State. The stem has a tendency 
to become woody and after a period of partial dormancy, 
it sends out new shoots and bears its second crop. This 
cannot, however, be expected in a frosty location. 

Garden Culture. — Peppers are usually grown from 
plants started early by artificial heat in the same manner 
indicated for egg-plant. Planting out should be done 
after danger of frost is over and the soil is well warmed 
by the sun. Later plants may be grown by planting the 



312 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

seed in drills in the open ground, thinning the plants 
afterward to suitable distance. Moisture should be 
evenly maintained by cultivation or irrigation as needed, 
but excessive water is undesirable at all times from the 
seed sowing onward. The plants will endure heat and 
drouth, but the fruiting is deficient in size and quantity, 
and for the best success, especially with the large varie- 
ties, rich, light soil, well cultivated and adequately moist, 
is a requisite. The distance between the plants depends 
upon method of cultivation, nl the hand-worked garden, 
the plants may be set a foot apart in rows, eighteen inches 
distant from each other, but usually greater distance is 
better, and for horse w^ork the rows should be two or three 
feet apart. 

Field Culture. — Field culture for canning and for the 
trade in dried peppers is pursued on a large scale in 
southern California, especially in Orange county, on the 
deep loams of the gentle slope oceanward. An outline of 
methods is prepared from data furnished by Mr. Allan 
Knapp of Anaheim, who is widely acquainted with local 
experience in the pepper district. 

Seed. — It is exceedingly important to have a good type 
of plant, and this can be secured by selecting pods in the 
field, to furnish seed for the following year, from low 
bushy vines full of pods of medium length. A tall bush 
will not produce as many pods and is more liable to be 
broken by strong winds when loaded with fruit. Besides 
the end of the pods from a low plant will rest on the 
ground, and in that position they Avill prop up the 
branches, providing you keep crowding a little earth to 
the row at each cultivation, as will be described later. 

When these seed pods are gathered put them on a string 
and hang up to dry against the south end of a building. 
Do not put them into the evaporator when hotter than 
110 to 115°. They may stand more heat, but i)erhaps only 
50%. of the seed may germinate quickly, and the other half 
may delay a week longer than those dried in the sun ; 
neither will it make so strong a plant. 



PLANTING OF PEPPERS. 313 

Growing Seedlings. — Select a location for the seed bed 
where good drainage may be had. Sandy soil is best, but 
not so poor that it contains no plant food to nourish the 
young plant. Plow and level the plot, harrowing or raking 
with a hand rake, as only a small piece of land is used ; 
sow seed about March 15 in rows three inches apart, cover- 
ing one-quarter of an inch. On this spread one-quarter 
inch with sand. Start your seed beside a large tree, if 
you have one, and you will have fair success. The tree 
will drain your land. If the young plants begin to die by 
"damping off," take a troAvel and dig out the affected 
spots and throw them away. The plants should have five 
or six leaves on before transplanting connnences. Wet 
the soil of the seed bed thoroughly before lifting the 
plants, as the roots are damaged less. 

Field Planting. — Plow the field deeply early in the win- 
ter and keep down weeds by shallow cultivation until 
plapting time, when danger of frost is passed. The chile 
plant is very sensitive to cold. May 1 is a good time for 
planting. Mark fields off in rows 4i/> feet apart and set 
21/2 feet apart in rows. Should the weather be dry and 
irrigation necessary plow a furrow beside each mark and 
run water in these furrows before and after planting, and 
if the Aveather be very hot two or three irrigations may 
be necessary to start plants. Always allow 24 hours after 
irrigating before plants are set, unless soil is very sandy. 
Then work may commence sooner. 

When through with the irrigation furrows, plow back 
and cultivate the land until level as before. Keep soil in 
good growing condition always. When plants are 12 to 
15 inches high use a ridger (such as is used in raising 
levees for irrigation checks) with plenty of space open 
behind and straddle each row, thus drawing the earth to 
each side of plant and giving it support. Water may be 
run down these rows at this time. As plants grow make 
the ridge wider with a crowder run in between each row. 
This ridge will keep plants from breaking down so readily 
when laden with fruit, and when fruit strikes the ground 



314 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

it will not decay so readily because the ridge will be dry. 
Do not make your first ridging too high, and do not do 
the work too late; if so, the first setting will be greatly 
injured by pushing the earth against the fruit, thus leav- 
ing no room for it to grow, and many pods will be curly 
and eaten by bugs. 

Gathering and Curing. — During September the fruit will 
begin to ripen, the time of ripening depending upon the 
soil and the care of the crop. In sandy soil the fruit will 
ripen quicker than in deep sediment. If the plants lack 
moisture they will ripen much faster, which looks well, 
but they should be kept green as long as possible. It 
pays better in the end. 

The crop should be picked as each setting ripens ; go 
over the field three or four times. A pod should be left 
on the vine until of a dark red and it has lost its hardness, 
being somewhat pliable. Have the crop gathered in large 
baskets, but they should be hauled in boxes rather tJian 
sacks, as they are less liable to be bruised, and a bruised 
pod is liable to decay unless dried at once. If peppers 
are to be dried on strings, have them dumped on a table 
or on the ground, as you prefer. Allow 24 to 48 hours for 
stems to wilt after gathering before they are put on the 
string. This work is done by running a twine through 
the stem of each chile, the twine to be 10i/> to 11 feet, and 
same may be hung on a scaffold to dry or put into espe- 
cially made evaporators. Some growers report favorably 
on drying their crop on trays instead of on twine. During 
recent years most of the drying has been done in evapor- 
ators, which is accomplished by artificial heat in six or 
eight days. 

Soils for the Commercial Crop. — Although peppers can 
be successfully grown in any good garden soil, it is im- 
portant for the field crop to choose deep, rich, sandy loam, 
or sediment soil, which will not bake very rapidly. The 
young plants must be set in damp soil and if land should 
easily bake it will become hard and will dry out more 
readily about the young plant and the growth will be very 



VARIETIES OF PEPPERS. 315 

slow. It is not wise to grow more than two crops of pep- 
pers on even the best of soils without fertilizing very 
liberally. Cover crops plowed under are found very 
profitable. 

Varieties. — The varieties chieliy grown for home use and 
marketing green are Large Bell or Bull-nose, an early 
variety of mild flavor, fruit large, slightly tapering and 
generally terminating in four obtuse, cone-like points. It 
is a favorite sort, both for pickling and for table use. 
Sweet mountain is another popular variety similar to the 
foregoing, but larger and milder in flavor, and Chinese 
Giant is an immense pepper, often twice as large as Large 
Bell. 

The standard for hot pepper and for the dried crop is 
the Mexican chile, long, narrow pods on a low-growing, 
narrow-leaved plant. One type is a very dark, thick- 
meated, cone-shaped chile, growing from 4 to 6 inches 
long, which is gaining ground ; while the Long Red, or 
Anaheim Chile, having pods from 6 to 10 inches long, is 
the best known. The plant is strong and holds its fruit 
up well and is very productive. There is also a longer 
variety with pods up to fourteen inches in length which, 
however, is claimed to be less productive and light when 
dried, though the flesh is quite thick when green. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
POTATOES. 

The Potato. — Solanum tuberosum. 

French, pomme de terre ; German, kartoffel ; Dutch, 
aardappel; Danish, jordepeeren; Italian, patata ; Spanish 
and Portuguese, patatas. 

The Sweet Potato. — Convolvulus balafas. 

French, patate douce; Italian, patata; Spanish and 
Portuguese, batata. 

Potatoes may be grown everywhere in California with- 
out irrigation, except on strictly arid plains and deserts, 
and it needs but slight watering to enable the light but 
rich soils of the arid regions to surpass the naturally moist 
lands both in the size and quality of their produce. Some 
of the grandest potatoes every grown in the State have 
been taken from light, w^arm soils whose natural growth 
was sagebrush and other desert flora. The superiority of 
the higher, lighter lands, either with adequate rainfall or 
irrigation, to the moist lowlands of the interior river bot- 
toms or the coast valleys, has been clearly recognized 
during recent years. In the -earlier days, the coast and 
the interior river bottoms w^ere supposed to be par ex- 
cellence the potato regions, and their products were trans- 
ported great distances to interior uplands which were 
thought to be unfit for the plant. Now the choicest po- 
tatoes are grown in these places and the production in 
the older regions has decreased, though the potato still 
constitutes an important crop. The present situation is 
that the potato may be seen everywhere from the skirts 
of the cliffs which look down upon the ocean, along the 
bottoms and sides of the coast valleys, on the reclaimed 
lands and benches of the great interior rivers, up the 



REQUIREMENTS OF POTATOES. 317 

slopes of the foothills and in the monntain valleys of the 
Sierra Nevada and out beyond, upon the stretches of sage- 
brush, wherever water can be had to turn the desert into 
a garden. California has capacity for a potato produc- 
tion beyond the ability of any available market to handle, 
and though a few years ago it seemed likely that our cli- 
matic advantages in early production would give us com- 
mand of distant consumption at certain times of the year, 
it has since been shown that much less can be profitably 
done in this direction than was anticipated. There have 
been in some years very large shipments at reduced freight 
rates when the Eastern production was deficient, but the 
potato is ordinarily too cheap an article to endure the cost 
of long transportation. The California potato product 
sometimes exceeds 3,000,000 sacks per year. 

Situations. — ^Though, as has been stated, the potato 
grows wherever adequate moisture is assured, there is 
much difference in the times of the year at which maturity 
is attained. Though the potato is a tender plant it will 
endure light frosts, nor does it always yield its life when 
the frost blights the foliage. Dormant buds lower on the 
stem develop into a new top growth. It is, therefore, pos- 
sible to secure fall and even winter growth in places where 
a strictly tender plant like the bean would perish. Where 
only light frosts occur and where irrigation is provided to 
supplement rainfall, it is possible to have new potatoes all 
the year and to bring to edible condition three crops suc- 
cessively on the same ground withing a twelve month, 
though it is, of course, better to let the potato take its 
place in a rotation. 

New Potatoes. — The first new potatoes from a California 
point of view, would be the crop that comes in the autumn 
with the first green peas — counting July 1 as the begin- 
ning of the garden year. In fact the first potatoes and 
peas come from the same localities. They make their 
growth in the fall from planting on ground well soaked by 
irrigation in July and August. The regions for this work 
are those in which fall frosts are light or do not occur at 



318 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

all — the tlu'r'inal l)c']ts at (liffcrciil elevations on the hill- 
sides both on the Coast Ranye and the Sierra Nevada, also 
on the warm interior plains, hut not usually on the river 
bottoms nor on the low places in small valleys. Owing, 
however, to the partial resistance to frost of the potato, 
there are very wide areas both on the coast and in the in- 
terior of central and southern California, where the fall 
growth of potatoes is safe and worth wider attention than 
is given to it by home gardeners. Where irrigation may 
be had to start the seed well the fall rains usually carry on 
the growth. 

Planting for what may be called the second run of new 
potatoes requires stricter attention to thermal conditions. 
This crop must be growing in December and January, 
which are our months of heaviest frosts and rainfall usu- 
ally. Strictly thermal belts, to be found at different ele- 
vations on hillsides, generally within the reach of ocean 
influences in the south half of the California coast line, 
but also here and there on the hillsides of the interior, 
favor the growth of the potato all through the winter, if 
the soil be light and kept warm by free escape of surplus 
water and abundant winter sunshine. 

The third run of new potatoes is secured by the plant- 
ing of the early varieties as soon as possible after the 
heaviest frosts of the locality are over, and the soil be- 
comes warm enough to push growth. This is the main po- 
tato planting season of California, and covers a wide range 
of dates, beginning with January on light, well-drained 
soils at the south to get the earliest new potatoes for East- 
ern shipment in May ; proceeding in February, not only in 
the south, but on warm uplands all through the central 
portion of the State, and continuing with planting all 
through March, April, and May, as favoring soil condi- 
tions come successively to the upper coast valleys and the 
mountain regions, or as the river lowlands and reclaimed 
islands are drained of their surplus water. In fact on in- 
terior river lands planting may be done as late as June and 
July and the crop comes on rapidly with ample heat and 



ALWAYS PLANTING POTATOES. 319 

moisture producing the first new potatoes of the California 
garden year, as previoiisl.y stated. Thus it appears that 
potato planting covers the entire year, and that while 
some parts of the State are digging their main crop, other 
parts are making their first planting. To bring the matter 
nearer to a point it may be said that a man in the central 
coast region may be eating new potatoes from his hillside 
while he is planting his main crop on his lowlands. And 
yet one is frequently asked to answer categorically the 
question: "When do you plant potatoes in California?" 
Obviously it is a local question, to be learned by experi- 
ence, observation, and inquiry, in accordance with the 
general conditions outlined in the chapter on the planting 
season in California. 

In connection, however, with this wide liberty in plant- 
ing, taking the State as a whole, it must be borne in mind 
that local requirements are sometimes very sharp and that 
planting on the interior plains or in other parts of the 
State where there is high heat and drought, or the soil be- 
comes dry even with moderate heat, planting must be un- 
dertaken early enough to allow a large part of the de- 
velopment of the plant before such stress comes. Local 
failures with potatoes may, therefore, be often attributed 
to neglect of planting as soon as moisture and temperature 
conditions favor growth in each locality. 

Soils.- — ^Light, rich loams are best for potatoes as they 
favor root extension and expansion of tubers and they are 
retentive enough to hold the moderate amount of moisture 
which ministers to the highest quality. Very near the 
coast well-cultivated, light uplands receive atmospheric 
moisture enough to sustain the deep verdure of the potato 
fields, while the pastures are sere and yellow. Summer 
growth on interior plains and foothill slopes and mountain 
plateaus is sustained by less irrigation than many other 
crops require, and winter growth, whenever feasible, is 
best on light, free soils. The sediment and peat of the 
river lands are also, in their season, light and warm. But 
the potato insists upon adequate moisture, though its claim 



320 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

is moderate. It cannot give satisfaction unless its mois- 
ture requirements are met. 

Heavy soils in garden culture can be greatly improved 
as described in the chaj)ter on Vegetable Soils of Califor- 
nia. Early and deep working of the soil and Uk; plowing 
in of rotten straw and compost and thorough mixture of 
these materials through the soil will have marked effect, 
but heavy land potatoes seldom have the beauty and flavor 
of th(^ product of the light, rich loams. 

Culture. — Deep working of the soil is essential in pre- 
paration for potatoes as has already been urged for beets 
and other root crops. The soil must be made mellow to a 
good depth by at least two plowings and kept mellow by 
subsequent cultivation. 

Unless the seed potatoes are old and show active eyes, 
they should be exposed to sunlight for several weeks to 
advance germination. This is especially the case when the 
tubers of an early crop are used for later planting the 
same season. 

All proposed methods of seed-cutting have been tried in 
California, and each has its advocates. When the soil and 
season favor, excellent crops are grown from small po- 
tatoes used as seed, but generally the selected fair-sized, 
2nerchantable potatoes, cut into quarters lengthwise, pro- 
duce best results. Cutting should not be done too long 
before planting, to guard against too great drying of the 
seed. Recently machines for seed potato cutting have 
been used with satisfactory results by large planters. Dis- 
tance between pieces in the farrow depends upon the ten- 
dency of the potatoes to grow too large. This is often 
corrected by dropping more thickly. The range is from 
12 to 20 inches usually. 

In the field much planting is done with the plow by 
dropping the "seed" in every third or fourth furrow, so as 
to bring the roots about three feet apart, and covering 
with the following furrow. Depth of planting depends 
upon season and soil as described on page 158, the same 
principles governing as in the planting of seed. After the 



POTATO GROWING. 321 

seed is plowed in to a depth of four to eight inches, ac- 
cording to season and soil, a thorough cross-harrowing 
should leave the field in good shape. On light soils dis- 
posed to be dry, a light rolling may be beneficial. As soon 
as the plants appear harrowing with the rows mellows the 
surface, kills small weeds, and does not hurt the potatoes. 
Cultivation between the rows should follow when the 
plants are up about three inches, and the surface should 
be kept loose until the plants are quite high. Good, clean 
culture is the rule with potatoes. In some soils, not dis- 
posed to dry out too rapidly nor to crust, crops are often 
made with little cultivation after weeds stop growing, 
especially where the plant has the benefit of coast influ- 
ences, but cultivation for moisture retention, where needed, 
must be more thorough. 

On lands subject to excess of moisture, winter growth of 
potatoes can be facilitated by the ridge planting described 
in the chapter on Cultivation, but where this is not likely 
to occur, flat culture is best, both in winter and summer. 
Where potatoes are to be irrigated a slight moving of the 
soil toward the row, so as to make the interspace a little 
hollow to carry water, is admissable, but "hilling up" is 
unnecessary and dangerous. It usually uncovers the firm 
soil and exposes the roots to too great heat and drought. 
It is also likely to bring the tubers within reach of the 
moth from whose eggs come the potato worms. During 
the latter part of the growth the tuber should be well cov- 
ered with soil. 

Irrigation.— The potato should be kept growing thriftily 
from start to finish. If growth is arrested by drought, a 
new growth of small potatoes is apt to start upon renewal 
of moisture, to the detriment of the crop. The aim should 
be, then, to keep the soil adequately moist by constant cul- 
tivation or by irrigation until maturity approaches. Irri- 
gation is best done by running small streams between the 
rows, the planting having been arranged for this distribu- 
tion. As already stated, excessive irrigation is decidedly 
detrimental to the quality of the crop, and extra effort 



322 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

must be made for even distribution of the water. To allow 
low places to fill up with water is injurious and to allow 
the water to come in contact with the plant stems is also 
dangerous. A good, thorough, and uniform wetting of the 
soil is often enough to finish the crop and it is seldom de- 
sirable to irrigate after the bloom appears. Thorough sur- 
face cultivation should quickly follow the irrigation, for 
the reasons stated in the chapter on that subject. 

Mulching. — For the last 35 years the practice of groov- 
ing potatoes on the interior plains by the help of a straw 
mulch has been followed to some extent. It has recently 
been proposed at the east as a new method, but it is really 
quite old. The seed is plowed in with a shallow furrow 
so as to cover about three or four inches, then cover the 
whole surface with partly decayed straw from an old 
stack or with coarse manure. The mulch will retain 
moisture enough to mature a crop. There need be no plow- 
ing, hoeing, nor weeding, and it is held by those who ad- 
vocate the method, that the labor of putting on straw is 
compensated for the saving of hoeing and weeding. It is 
also a safe way to grow early potatoes in frosty places be- 
cause the mulch protects the dormant buds at the base of 
the stems and new foliage quickly grows if the old is 
nipped by frost. 

Harvesting. — Potato diggers or plows are used to some 
extent in California, but the common method of gathering 
is by means of a long-handled shovel which is dexterously 
pushed beneath the plant so that all the tubers are thrown 
out at one operation. The yield of potatoes varies from 
five to nine tons per acre on good soil, properly cultivated. 

Storing. — As the summer and fall climate of California 
is almost rainless and the frosts seldom severe enough to 
freeze a potato in a sack, the tubers are generally sacked 
and piled in the field for weeks and months. This advan- 
tage is turned by careless growers into a disadvantage, be- 
cause the potatoes are often seriously injured by heat and 
light and shriveled by dry, hot winds, or the moth places 
her eggs upon them and wormy and worthless potatoes is 



POTATO VARIETIES. 323 

the result of her work. Potatoes shoukl be stored in a 
dark, dry place and protected from heat. If left in the 
field for a time the piles should be covered with boards, 
straw or canvass. 

Varieties. — As with other vegetables, California has 
tried many kinds of potatoes and grows very few on a 
commercial scale. The first notable varieties were brought 
from Chili and Peru in very early days, and are still 
grown in a small way though the main crop is now made 
of newer kinds because in some localities the old varieties 
ran out and showed great susceptibility to blight. The 
blight, which in some years is a serious menace to potato 
growing, has been partially escaped by the introduction of 
new varieties which were thrift.y, while the old varieties 
on adjacent ground perished. For this reason new varie- 
ties should be tested in all localities. 

The potato which constitutes most of the market crop is 
the Burbank and some variations of it are locally popular. 
For mid-season and late potatoes nothing compares with 
the Burbank. For early potatoes the old Early Rose still 
prevails widely though others are encroaching upon it. 
Triumph is a little earlier and is gaining ground. Early 
White Rose, Early Clark and Early Ohio are chiefly popu- 
lar in southern California. American "Wonder, and Snow- 
flake and Pearl are advancing as shipping varieties and 
Peerless still retains favor in some localities. 

Although there are local adaptations of different va- 
rieties, the character of the potato depends more upon 
local conditions of soil and climate than upon the variety 
and the same variety from different localities commands 
widely different prices in the market. 

SWEET POTATOES. 

The sweet potato is grown in nearly all parts of Cali- 
fornia where rich, sandy loam, suitably moist, can be 
found. Adequate heat is essential to quality and the upper 
coast region has localities which are deficient in this re- 
spect, but protection from coast influences renders the pro- 
duct satisfactory, even though distance from the ocean be 



324 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

not great. As a rule, however, the crop in the upper half 
of the State is grown in the interior valleys, while at the 
south, both the coast slopes and the interior valleys yield 
a fine product. Where the soil is rich, warm, and free and 
the moisture sufficient, the sweet potato attains immense 
size and rightly ranks among the great things of Cali- 
fornia. 

The sweet potato is a strictly tender plant and a heat- 
lover as well, consequently there is no winter planting, 
though in drier parts of the State, free from frost, there 
may be fall plantings which carry their crop well into the 
winter and for more than half the year fresh potatoes may 
be taken from the ground, and by proper storing the vege- 
table may be enjoyed throughout the year. 

Preparation of the Ground. — Planting is done at the be- 
ginning of the frost-free period and the date depends upon 
the locality. Usually it comes about the first of May, but 
preparation of the ground should begin earlier to secure 
good culture and moisture retention as described for other 
root crops. In regions of good rainfall moisture enough 
can thus be retained to make the crop, or at least start it 
well. On dry plains it may be necessary to thoroughly 
irrigate in the spring before the deep plowing with which 
the planting is to be made. On loose, lowland soils or in 
irrigated regions there is often abundant moisture within 
reach of the plant to serve its purposes and then sweet 
potatoes may follow a hay or grain crop just as in the 
practice with common potatoes. Lands which receive 
moisture from below, and yet are not wet and cold, pro- 
duce the crop with least labor and expense, though it is 
quite feasible to proceed with direct irrigation both for 
planting and after growth. The sweet potato sends its 
roots to great distances to find moisture. 

Growing- the Plants. — The sweet potato grows readily 
by cuttings from the growing vine planted out directly in 
the field if the ground is moist and warm. This method is 
followed to rapidly multiply a rare variety. The usual 
method is to plant the crop by using sprouts from potatoes 



SWEET POTATOES. 325 

on which growth is quickly started with bottom heat. Any 
of the hot-bed appliances described in the chapter on 
propagation may be used for this purpose on a small scale, 
but in the warmer parts of the State it can be done on a 
large scale for field planting without expense of glass or 
cloth covering. There is, however, often advantage in an 
early start with sweet potatoes, and for this the plants 
must be started when air and soil are too cold. Hot water 
circulation is being used for bottom heat. If artificial heat 
is used, care must be taken against overheating. 

To grow plants in the open air, dig a trench four or five 
feet wide and about two feet deep ; the length according to 
the number of plants desired. The trench should be dug 
in light, well-drained soil, in a place protected from cold 
winds, such as the south side of a building. Put in fresh 
horse manure and tramp down until about a foot and a 
half of thickness is secured. Wet it well, but not enough 
to drain, and immediately cover with three or four inches 
of moist soil. Upon this place the sweet potatoes just as 
close as they can be put down without touching each other. 
When done, sift in fine sand between the potatoes and 
finally cover with three inches of very sandy loam, or even 
with sand. Keep this bed moist but not wet. Moisture 
and heat may be retained by covering the bed with two 
inches of loose straw to be removed as the shoots appear. 
The plants are ready for use in about eight weeks from 
the bedding of the tubers, when they show a few green 
leaves; they can be detached by pulling and will bring 
their outfit of small roots with them as they are pulled 
out of the sand. The tubers will then send up other shoots 
which can be used for later plantings. 

Some prefer to uncover the potatoes, beginning at one 
end of the bed, removing the shoots and replacing the cov- 
ering. This lessens the danger of breaking the shoots. 
Others split the potatoes lengthwise and plant with the 
cut side down so that all the shoots come from the upper 
surface, and are thus less liable to break in pulling. 

Planting. — Most sweet potatoes a.re grown on ridges to 



326 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

secure greater heat in the soil and to facilitate irrigation, 
but flat culture is also practiced, and in some regions is 
decidedly better. After the land is well prepared and 
harrowed down smooth, mark off the rows three feet apart 
and set the plants eighteen inches apart in the row. AVhen 
the ground is thoroughly warmed by the advance of the 
season, say in April or May, take the shoots as described 
above. They must, of course, be kept from drying out, 
the young roots being very tender. In taking them to 
the field they must, therefore, be kept in a bucket with 
water, or in a wet sack, the former being the best. Plant 
out the shoots eighteen inches apart in the rows, one in a 
place, settling them down in the soil deep enough to find 
permanent moisture. 

Sometimes when the object is to get unusually large 
potatoes, instead of pulling off and setting out the slips, 
the potato is lifted out, and with every slip a small piece 
of the potato is cut out and planted with the slip. This 
method will bring the earliest potatoes, but the number 
of sets are many less than though the potato be allowed to 
remain in bed for their continued production. 

Recently planting out with a machine has come into use, 
such as the transplanting machine, which digs a trench on 
the top of the ridge and drops water at whatever intervals 
are desired. Two boys place the plants, holding them 
until the machine draws the dirt securely around them. 

Ctdtivation. — Cultivation for the purpose of weed kill- 
ing and surface stirring is continued until the vines inter- 
fere, and after that the vines cover the ground with a 
thick mat and discourage weed growth. 

Harvesting and Storage. — Use of the sweet potatoes may 
begin when they attain suitable size, but for keeping they 
must attain a good degree of maturity. 

Some find the keeping of sweet potatoes somewhat diffi- 
cult. Many pack the potatoes in dry sand and keep them 
in the house. This is expensive and is not a sure way. 
Many will rot, and sometimes only one-third of them will 
keep till spring. Storage in the open air with due pro- 



KEEPING SWEET POTATOES. 327 

tection against too great temperature changes and 
moisture is better. This method has been approved in 
Fresno county: 

Take stout stakes, say five to six feet long, and drive 
them into the ground in a row and five feet apart, in some 
dry place that is not sheltered by trees. Dig the potatoes 
and throw them up around the stakes to the height of four 
feet. For a large field a great many such rows may be 
necessary ; for a small patch perhaps one single stake will 
suffice. When all dug, put four inches of straw as cover- 
ing. 

After a week or ten days, according to the weather, 
the potatoes will have undergone a sweating process. 
They first cover themselves with moisture, as if they had 
been dipped in water. This moisture gradually begins to 
disappear, and as soon as it does so it is time to throw off 
the straw. This should be done when the wind is blowing ; 
the potato hills should be left open for three or four hours, 
or until the potatoes appear entirely dry. If the straw 
covering is taken off in the morning, the potatoes will be 
dry at noon. Then cover them again with three or four 
inches of fresh, dry straw, and on the top of the straw put 
three or four inches of soil to keep out the cold. On the 
top of this must be placed a roof, which is easily made of 
shakes nailed to strips of two by three and made in the 
shape of panels, to allow of easy handling and of repeated 
use year after year. Potatoes kept in this way will pre- 
serve perfectly until next spring. Very few, if any, will 
be found decayed. 

Varieties. — Probably all the improved varieties have 
been introduced in California. The California demand is 
for a variety which is rather dry and mealy when cooked, 
although the softer, sweeter sorts have some advocates. 
The most common variety is called the Californian, but it 
is a Chinese sort introduced in early daj^s. The Southern 
Queen and the Nansemonds are also popular and the 
Jersey Red is grown to some extent in southern California. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
RADISHES. 

The Radish. — Baphanus sativus. 

French, radis; German, radies; Dutch, radijs; Danish, 
haverdoedike ; Italian, ravanello ; Spanish, rabanito ; Por- 
tuguese, rabao. 

Horse-radish. — Cochlearia A rmoracia. 

French, raifort sauvage ; German, meerettig ; Dutch, 
peperwortel ; Danish, peberrod ; Italian, raf ano ; Spanish, 
taramago ; Portuguese, rabao de cavalho. 

The radish is a relish which can be had continuously 
throughout the year in most parts of California, if proper 
soil and moisture conditions can be arranged. It is almost 
a hopeless task to undertake to secure a crisp, delicately 
flavored radish unless heat and moisture are favorable to 
quick growth of the plant. It takes some gardening skill, 
therefore, to produce good radishes in winter localities 
with sharp frosts and heavy rainfall, while in regions of 
light frost and light rainfall, winter heat is usually ade- 
quate to satisfactory growth. 

The best soil for radishes is a rich, sandy loam, though 
any good garden soil will grow them if a small piece is 
improved for the purpose as described in the chapter on 
Vegetables Soils of California. 

Preparation of the soil is essentially the same as that 
already described for other root-crops, and sowing, as 
already intimated, can be done whenever the soil is in 
good condition, if irrigation is available for use in the dry 
season, and there is free drainage in the winter. Tempera- 
ture is, however, of more moment to the radish than to 
some other hardy garden plants, and during the colder 
months, the raised bed, as previously described, located 



GROWING RADISHES. 329 

on the sunny side of a wind-break, will afford heat enough 
usually. In other places where cold and rain are greater 
the "warm heap" described elsewhere may be used. By 
thus adapting the method to local conditions winter 
growth can be had anywhere in the valley and foothill re- 
gions of the State. Summer growth is mainly a question 
of soil-moisture Avhich can be regulated by irrigation and 
cultivation. 

As the radish is naturally of quick growth and as crisp- 
ness and mild flavor are largely conditioned on pushing it 
to the utmost of its speed, it can be grown to advantage 
as a catch crop here and there in the garden on ground 
that is temporarily out of use for a few weeks, or between 
the rows of more slowly growing vegetables. The gardener 
should alwaj^s be ready to scatter good radish seed when 
he has a little stretch of light, rich, moist soil at command. 
A little attention and ingenuity will in this way secure a 
constant supply. 

Varieties. — Popular favor runs in the direction of the 
turnip-shaped varieties, of which there are very many 
The long radishes are, however, often chosen for home use. 
The Early Scarlet Turnip is most largely grown and there 
are several strains of it varying in earliness and color. 
The E^'rench Breakfast, oval, tipped with white, stands 
next to the Scarlet Turnip sorts, and the White and Scar- 
let globes are Avidely grown. The Italian market garden- 
ers grow what is knoAvn as the "Half-Long," a variety 
of Rose Olive-Shaped and the Black Spanish, very desir- 
able for winter growth. The White Turnip, similar to 
Scarlet Turnip except in color, is popular with German 
gardeners, and the Chartier has some popularity as a large 
scarlet variet.y, shading to pink and thence to white at 
the root-tip. The Crimson Giant turnip is very large and 
yet generally solid and crisp. The Mammoth Chinese dis- 
tances all others for size. It is pure white, mild-flavored 
and crisp, even though it may grow 18 inches in length 
and three inches in diameter in six weeks, with interior 
heat on light soil, abundantly moist. 



330 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

HORSE-RADISH. 

Horse-radish is a popular relish in California and is 
bottled on <|nite a large scale. The plant is easily grown 
and shonld be found in every farm garden. A start is 
most conveniently made by planting root sets. ]\Ir. Ira 
W. Adams advises planting the roots or sets in rows two 
feet apart with the sets one foot apart in the rows, and 
three or four inches under the surface. On rich, moist 
soil, with the best of cultivation, one can raise roots that 
will weigh from one-half to three-quarters of a pound. 
When the roots are dug in winter for use, break off all the 
small rootlets from one-quarter to one-half inch in diam- 
eter, cut into pieces from three to five inches long, leaving 
the top end square, and the bottom end slanting, so there 
will be no mistake in planting them upside dowm. Tie in 
small bunches and put into moist sand that has perfect 
drainage and is exposed to the weather. In very cold, 
long, heavy rains it is w^ell to cover with shakes, or short 
pieces of boards. A cool cellar is a good place to store 
them, but be careful that the sand is never allowed to get 
dry, as the sets will not root nicely without continual 
moisture. Early in the spring there will be nicely rooted 
sets ready for transplanting, as before described. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
RHUBARB. 

Rhubarb or Pie Plant. — Rheum sp. 

French, rhubarbe ; German and Danish, rhabarber ; 
Dutch, rabarber ; Italian, rabarbaro ; Spanish and Por- 
tuguese, ruibarbo. 

Rhubarb attains grand size and quality in California if 
due attention is paid to the requirements of the plant, and 
it should have a place in every house garden. It enjoys 
very rich soil and will thrive on a great variety of soils, 
even from heavy clay to light peat, providing ample mois- 
ture is afforded it. On heavy, retentive soils it must have 
good cultivation or thick mulching to prevent loss of 
moisture and surface baking : on light, coarse soils either 
ample irrigation or natural sub-irrigation will keep the 
plant thrifty and vigorous. It does not enjoy high heat 
and drought, and the old varieties reach best estate and 
are chiefly commercially produced in the coast valleys or 
on the river bottom lands of the interior, but can be very 
satisfactorily grown for home use on interior plains and 
mesas providing constant moisture is supplied ; partial 
shade is also grateful to the foilage in the interior, but is 
not necessary on the coast. Since the wide introduction 
of winter growing rhubarb, which defies the frost and en- 
joys the ample moisture of the rainy season, the range of 
the plant has vastly increased in California and its com- 
mercial importance has greatly advanced. 

Culture. — Rhubarb is grown from seed or propagated 
by division of the roots: the latter insures reproduction 
of the identical characters of the parent, while from seed 
there is always a chance of variation. 

Rhubarb plants may be grown from seed by preparing 



332 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the ground in the same way already described for aspara- 
gus, and the same care of the seedling as there indicated 
will bring good, strong rhuliarb roots for planting out as 
yearlings. Mr. Ira W. Adams gives the following special 
advice for rhubarb seedlings : 

Prepare the bed the same as for asparagus. Sow the 
seed in rows one foot apart, and one inch apart in the row 
in a little furrow one inch deep ; tamp down lightly with 
the back of a steel rake and cover with the finest of soil, 
as the seeds are small and light. When the plants are an 
inch or two high, they can be transplanted into rows 12 
inches apart, and four inches between the plants. By fall 
they will be fine, strong plants, and can be planted out the 
next spring in permanent rows. 

Root sets are made by dividing the roots of the older 
plants so that each piece shall have a bud or eye. The most 
vigorous plants, producing the largest leaves and thickest 
leaf-stems, should be selected for this purpose. 

Planting. — Before planting either in field or garden the 
soil should be heavily manured and deeply turned in the 
fall so as to get the full benefit of the winter rains. Trans- 
planting of the old varieties should be done when the 
plant is dormant, the soil in good working condition and 
warmth enough for growth anticipated. The date will, 
of course, vary in different localities, but February will 
usually be satisfactory for the summer growing varieties. 
The soil must not be too wet at transplanting or the roots 
may rot : good warmth and moisture are favorable. The 
introduction of winter growing varieties has modified 
transplanting practice. They are practically evergreen 
and active except for a short dormancy in the late sum- 
mer, and, though capable of transplanting by cutting back 
the leaves all through the rainy season, are usually moved 
the best advantage from April to June, the latter period 
being available on irrigated land. 

There are different ways of planting out, each with its 
own advocates. Roots set four feet apart each way give 
good opportunity for cultivation both ways: but some 



GROWING RHUBARB. 333 

give more room by laying off in six feet rows with the 
plants three or four feet apart in the row. Others plant 
in the garden, placing the plants two feet apart, if only 
one row is planted, and in four feet rows with the plants 
three feet apart if there are to be several rows. On good, 
strong, deep soils, it is well to give plenty of room, for 
large growth of leaves is desired to impart vigor to the 
roots. Distance depends somewhat upon the variety, but 
nearly all growers aim at very large leaf stems, and these 
require ample space. 

Treatment. — Plants of summer growing varieties should 
be allowed to retain all their leaves the first year after 
planting out, and there must be abundant moisture for 
summer growth if there is to be a heavy crop the second 
year. Frequent summer cultivation is desirable unless 
mulching is employed, and if it is, the grower must be 
sure that his mulching is heavy enough to retain moisture. 
It is probably better to trust to cultivation and irrigation 
in most situations. With the fall rains the surface should 
be liberally dressed with manure and covered in as deeply 
as possible without injury to the roots. Shallow cultiva- 
tion should follow before the weeds advance too far, to be 
repeated as necessary to keep the field clean. 

Winter growing varieties, planted out in the spring and 
summer, irrigated, establish themselves so strongly the 
first summer that some pulling can be done upon them the 
following winter. Even without irrigation, spring set 
plants will receive a new impulse with the first rain, grow 
riotously with the autumn heat and give large leaf stems 
by the holidays in the warmer parts of the State. 

Manuring and cultivation should be followed year after 
year to keep the soil rich and in good tilth. Some soils 
are, however, so rich naturally that such liberal manuring 
may not be necessary. The plant should not be too fully 
stripped of its leaves nor should the pulling be continued 
too late in the summer. The following crop depends upon 
adequate leaf action — consequently the plant must have 
foliage and summer moisture to maintain it. 



334 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Varieties. — The Moiiai-ch is larj^ely grown. It has a very 
wide, fiat stem. The Victoria has red, long stems, rather 
sharp acid, but a very productive sort and popular. Lin- 
naeus is early, large, thick stems, of excellent flavor and 
less acid. 

The Crimson Winter, introduced from Australia by Lu- 
ther Burbank about 1895, and sold by him to the trade in 
1900, has revolutionized rhubarb growing in California by 
completely reversing the market season. This variety and 
its improvements by Mr. Burbank and by others who have 
practiced selection since he sold it out, has multiplied the 
rhubarb acreage of the State and vastly increased the ser- 
viceability and commercial suitability of the plant. It has 
precluded forcing in California and promises to render 
forcing unprofitable even in the wintry parts of the coun- 
try because of the large supplies of open air rhubarb which 
are available for shipment from this State at all times of 
the year when the summer varieties grown in wintry cli- 
mates are unproductive. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
SPINACH. 

Common Spinach. — Spinacia ohracea and spinosa. 

French, epinard ; German, spinat ; Dutch, spinazie ; 
Danish, spinat; Italian, spinaccio ; Spanish, espinaca ; Por- 
tuguese, espinafre. 

New Zealand Spinach. — Tetrayoiiia expansa. 

Spinach is an all-the-year- plant in California, and the 
house-gardener need never fail to have tender foliage for 
boiling if he arranges for successive sowings and knows 
the varieties and species which befit the changing seasons, 
for he can choose for fall sowing that which is perfectly 
hardy and thrifty in the California winter, and for spring 
sowing that which will furnish succulent pluckings even 
through the heat and drought of the interior summer. But 
though this is so, it is chiefly as affording winter greens 
that spinach is grown for the market. The summer fur- 
nishes so large a variety of table vegetables that it is 
chiefly in winter that the housewife turns her attention to 
pot-herbs. 

Culture. — The varieties of common spinach (spinacia) 
dislike heat and drought and enjoy moist, rich soil and 
moderate temperature. These conditions are afforded by 
all California gardens in the winter, providing the grower 
will heed the suggestions for ridge-culture, etc., given in 
previous chapters, for escaping surplus water and secur- 
ing suitable growing-temperature in the winter garden. 
With these provisions it is easy to secure winter spinach 
by following the suggestions given for the winter growth 
of lettuce, peas or other hardy vegetables. What has been 
said of fall sowing of these, applies also to spinach. The 
plant makes best growth from seed sown in place, and if 



336 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the seed is good it m;iy be thinly sown, for the plants 
should not be allowed to crowd each other. They should 
have from six to nine inches space in the row and should 
be kept free from encroachment of weeds. To keep the 
soil from packing by rains, and to push the plants as well, 
a top dressing of fine manure may be placed to be leached 
out by the rains. In a garden with permanent walks, 
spinach may be sown as a border plant, which brings it 
within easy reach for the frequent plucking of leaves. The 
plants will endure this, and by means of new growth on 
old plants and successive sowings, it is feasible, as above 
stated, to have spinach always ready. The variety chiefly 
used is the "Large Prickly," although the "Long Stand- 
ing" is also esteemed because of its long leaf growth be- 
fore sending up seed stems. The Round or Summer is also 
considerably used. 

For greens in the hot and dry summer and dry autumn, 
the New Zealand spinach is making a fine record in Cali- 
fornia. It has been widely distributed by the State Uni- 
versity. Even in interior situations it grows on dry ground 
all summer, and maintains rich green color until frost kills 
the top growth. The stems and foliage are very sensitive 
to frost, but the root is more hardy and gives new growth 
and is useful in the spring. The plant sends out shoots of 
considerable length which may be cut off for cooking. Its 
tenderness and flavor are vouched for by many growers. 
Early summer cutting may be had by starting plants with 
bottom heat and planting out like egg plants, but in our 
long summer, sowing in the spring after frost danger is 
over, gives abundant foliage in late summer and autumn. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
SQUASHES. 

Mammoth Squashes or Pumpkins. — Cucurhita maxima. 

French, potirons ; German, melonen-kurbiss ; Danish, 
eentner-groeskar ; Italian, zucca ; Spanish, calabaza to- 
tanera. 

Marrows and Scollops. — Cucurlita pepo. 

The species moschata also contributes same horticultural 
varieties. 

The California-grown squashes are all noted for pro- 
digious size and the acre-product is also immense. Squashes 
have been used from the early days as exponents of size 
in California vegetables, at all distant and local exhibi- 
tions, and the statistics thereof would fill a volume. 
Weights of single specimens have been attained in excess 
of 300 pounds, and field crops above 30 tons to the acre. 
To avoid exaggeration and at the same time present the 
truth about the California squash in a picturesque man- 
ner, a single record is presented from the writer's collec- 
tion of cucurbitous literature. Philander Kellogg, of Go- 
leta, Santa Barbara county, who is personally known to 
the writer as a man of truth and probity, furnishes this 
statement : 

I planted my squashes in May, and harvested them in 
October. Finding that they were unusually large, I 
weighed 10 of the largest and found that their aggregate 
weight was one ton and 50 odd pounds, the largest one 
weighing 225 pounds. This squash was exhibited at the 
county fair and received the first prize. On the 15th of 
November, which was my boy's sixteenth birthday, I cut 
open one of the other squashes, that weighed 210 pounds, 
and took out the seeds ; my boy then got into it and I put 



338 CALIP^ORNIA VEGETABLES. 

the picc(' together riiul eonipletely closed him in, the parts 
coming tight together. I then persuaded my eighteen- 
year-old daughter to get into it and I closed her in, in the 
same manner. My daughter's weight was 110 pounds. I 
then put two seven-year-old boys in at once. I then put 
my three little girls in at once ; they were aged respec- 
tively six, four and two years, their united weight being 
116 pounds. I placed the largest child in the bottom and 
the little one on the top and then put on the lid; the 
squash was cut so that the top could be easily put on or 
removed. The squash was three feet four or five inches 
in length. 

The growth and productiveness of the plant in specially 
favorable places are proportional to the size of the fruit : 
vine growth of 50 feet and from 30 to 42 good sized fruits 
to the single vine are recorded — a good wagon load to the 
vine. 

Localities and Soils. — The greatest specimens and the 
heaviest crops are produced on rich, retentive loams. 
These are rather heavy soils and are usually the lowlands 
of either coast or interior valleys. But great squashes are 
not confined to such soils. Lighter soils, if abundantly 
rich and adequately moist, are also very satisfactory, and 
in fact any good soil deeply plowed and properly culti- 
vated, until the vines cover the ground, may be expected 
to give good return. For this reason the dairy farmer who 
has suitable land, grows squash in large quantity for fall 
and early winter feeding ; the mixed farmer enters squash 
as a stated item in his list of crops, and the fruit farmer 
is quite apt to grow squash between the trees in his young 
orchard, to contribute to his family milk supply. 

The squash is somewhat exacting in its moisture supply, 
and does not respond well on light, dry soils unless irri- 
gated. With enough moisture the plant endures the high- 
est interior heat and records large production. Excessive 
irrigation is, however, to be avoided, for it is apt to di- 
minish the fruiting. 




X 
m 

< 

a 
m 

Q 



340 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Culture. — The squash plant is very tender: it is de- 
stroyed by frost, and the seed is apt to fail in cold ground. 
The proper practice is to have the soil previously well cul- 
tivated, but to delay planting seed or transplanting seed- 
lings from the covered bed until the time is frost-free and 
the soil warm. The culture of the squash is therefore like 
that already prescribed for the cucumber and for melons, 
in the chapters devoted to those subjects, to which the 
reader is referred. The bush varieties of squashes follow 
the cucumber in distances, and the running varieties fol- 
low watermelon distances. There is, however, some dif- 
ference in the practice of growers of the running varieties : 
some advocate rather close planting, as six by six or eight 
by eight feet in squares, and others plant at wider dis- 
tances, even to setting two plants in a place at intervals 
of 14 feet apart. It is impossible to state any specific dis- 
tance at best : it is to be determined locally according to 
the growth which the local soil and climate produce. One 
is apt to err on the side of crowding than otherwise. 

Care must be had not to cover the seed too deeply. It 
must be firmly placed in moist soil and covered enough to 
avoid quick drying. The suggestions in the chapter on 
propagation are as definite as they can be made, accord- 
ing to the character of the soils employed. 

Cultivation must be begun as soon as possible after 
planting, to save moisture from loss either by weeds or 
evaporation, and must be frequent for the same reason. 
Nothing looks more distressful than squash vines perish- 
ing on baked clay or dry sandy soil which, if properly 
cultivated from the start, would have sustained a splendid 
growth. 

Garden Culture. — In addition to injunctions for 
thorough working of the soil and adequate irrigation, 
there is the opportunity in garden culture to produce 
grand results by special fertilization. Careful use of the 
compost or liquid manure, described in the chapter on fer- 
tilization, produces marvelous results. 



SQUASH GROWING. 341 

Varieties. — -We have in California probably all kinds of 
squash known to horticulture. Some amateurs take special 
interest in such collections, and scores of varieties repre- 
senting the whole gourd family have been shown in State 
fair exhibits. And yet the bulk of the product is made of 
very few varieties. 

Of the bush forms which are relied upon for summer 
squash, the scollops comprise most of the crop, both the 
early white and yellow being grown — the former pre- 
ferred. The yellow crook-neck is also grown to some ex- 
tent. The Italian and Boston marrows have a few warm 
advocates. 

Of the winter squash for table use, the Hubbard and the 
Red or Golden Hubbard, which is a little earlier, are chiefly 
grown. The field squash crop is made of several varieties. 
The California Marrowfat, a splendid, orange-colored 
squash, takes the lead, while associated with it in the same 
field may be found the Mammoth Chile, which is usually 
the sort, more or less pure, which yields the largest speci- 
mens. There is also a very large winter crookneck, very 
prolific and rather more hardy in trying situations, but not 
so good in keeping quality as the preceding. Here and 
there may be found a field of the old-fashioned New Eng- 
land pumpkin, and fair exhibits usually bring to light both 
the Etampes and Tours pumpkins, but the large orange 
and light olive fruits are named squashes in the California 
vernacular, and are preferred. There is much confusion 
both in the terms "squash" and "pumpkin," and there 
are many chance hybrids which await analysis by some 
cucurbitous specialist. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 
THE TOMATO. 

Tomato or Love Apple. — Lycopersicum escuhntum. 

French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, tomate; 
Dutch, tomaat; Italian, pomo d'oro. 

The tomato is one of the most popular, prolific, and 
profitable of California vegetables. It is grown every- 
where during the local occurrences of the frost-free period, 
and in our thermal situations the fruit can be gathered all 
the year. The earliest fruit in our local markets and the 
earliest shipments to the East are gathered from vines 
which have continued growth from the previous summer 
and autumn, and, encountering no killing frost, are able 
to fruit through the winter months. Favorable places 
near the coast in southern California are best known for 
this winter crop. The winter-grown fruit is, of course, in- 
ferior to the summer and fall crop, though it is excellent 
enough to command high prices for table use until the 
earliest yield from spring plantings is to be had. When 
this new crop comes in, the fruit from the hold-over plants 
becomes cheaper, but is still marketed until the new crop 
becomes abundant. In this way one year's plants in 
southern thermal situations lap over upon the yield of the 
following year in the earliest interior sections at the north, 
and the tomato supply from open air plants is continuous 
through out the year, though the supply regions are hun- 
dreds of miles distant from each other. The fact that the 
north produces earlier spring tomatoes from new plants 
than in the south is difficult for distant students to realize. 
It is conditioned upon ocean influences and local topog- 
raphy, which at the south prevent frosts which winter-kill 
the old plants at the north, and at the same time postpone 



CONDITIONS FOR TOMATOES. 343 

spring heat at the south, which is attained earlier in shel- 
tered places in the interior at the north from which ocean 
influences are excluded. There are places in the interior 
at the south, east of the high mountain range, which are 
furnishing tomatoes earlier than either the southern coast 
or the northern- interior. Still, in the all-the-year demand 
for the tomato, it is necessary to bring some fruit from 
Mexico and from the forcing houses of the Southern States, 
and it is probable that more forcing of tomatoes will be 
undertaken in this State in the fuutre. No vegetable has 
advanced so rapidly in public esteem during the last 
decade as the tomato. 

Requirements of the Tomato. — For early tomatoes which 
can attain their chief growth before the close of the rainy 
season, somewhat elevated situations, above the lowland 
frosts, and with light, warm soils and free drainage, should 
be selected. Sometimes frosts will occasion replanting, for 
which a stock of thrifty plants should always be in readi- 
ness. It is idle to attempt the growth of early tomatoes 
on a commercial scale except on situations naturally fitted 
for them. In the family garden, however, slight covering 
from frost can be successfully undertaken. 

For the main crop of tomatoes, rich, lower lands, either 
naturally retentive of moisture or supplied therewith by 
irrigation, are usually employed. Even heavy valley soils 
are profitably used by thorough preparation before plant- 
ing and cultivation afterward. Late planting can be prac- 
ticed and immense yields are secured for harvesting in 
September and October, when the fruit is of superior 
solidity and the canneries are clear of their summer fruit 
work and can turn their full capacity to this most popular 
canned vegetable. In some parts of the State, November 
and December tomatoes are very profitable when autumn 
frosts and rains are light. 

The moisture requirements of the tomato are moderate, 
but they must be adequately met. Stunted vines and 
small, inferior fruit are the results of drouth. High heat 
can be endured and favors growth, provided ample 



344 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

moisture is available. The more moderate heat of the coast 
regions and the interior river bottoms is, however, ade- 
quate for full development of the plant, and it is attained 
with much less moisture than on the higher lands of the 
interior. For this reason splendid crops are secured with- 
out irrigation on retentive soils in valleys of sufficient 
rainfall, even if the plants are not set until the opening 
of the dry season — provided suitable winter and spring 
working is given to prevent evaporation and to hold 
moisture near the surface. On lands moistened by under- 
flow splendid tomatoes can be grown without irrigation 
all through the local frost-free period. 

Plants for the Garden. — Tomatoes are readily grown 
from seed and the best plants are those produced with 
moderate heat. They need simple protection from cold 
rather than forcing heat, as our day -temperatures from 
February onward are almost always adequate. For 
earlier starting of plants some bottom heat is desirable 
and can be profitably used if care is taken for free ad- 
mission of air and subsequent hardening of the plants by 
later growth under protection but at lower temperatures. 
The considerations urged in the chapter on propagation 
for the handling of seeds and seedlings have special ap- 
plicability to the growth of tomato plants. For the home 
garden in the central and northern valley regions there is 
perhaps no better way of growing plants than that of 
Ira W. Adams, as follows : 

"Plant the seed about the middle of February in a small 
box two inches in depth, and keep in the house by a south 
window in a moderately warm room. On warm, sunny 
days, put them outdoors, and let them remain out day and 
night whenever the weather is warm enough ; in this way 
they will make stocky plants and be much hardier than if 
raised altogether in the house. The soil should be rich 
and mellow, and always kept a little moist. When the 
plants appear, thin out to an inch apart. As soon as the 
plants begin to crowd each other, transplant to another 
box about four inches in depth and give them a space of 



TOMATO SEED BEDS. 



345 



four inches. By the time they crowd each other again 
they can be transplanted outdoors on the south side of the 
house or barn into a good-sized bed of rich soil. Here 
they can remain until they get to be large, strong, hardy 
plants, with very large, fibrous roots. When all danger 
of frost is over, take a sharp spade and cut out a square 
of dirt with each plant, put into rows six feet apart, with 




BEDS FOR GROWING TOMATO PLANTS IN IMPERIAL 
VALLEY. 



the plants the same distance in the row. Plants can be 
transplanted in this way when over a foot high and in 
blossom. By transplanting them just at night, or on a 
cloudy day, they will hardly ever show a wilted leaf." 

Another way to secure large plants for garden planting 
is to start them in a seed box, in the house, or with bottom 
heat as described in the chapter on propagation, and then 
transplant, when small, into growing cases made of dis- 
carded fruit cans. Select those of similar size, throw 
them on a burning brush pile for a few minutes, when the 



346 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

tops and bottoms will drop out, and the seams on the sides 
will open, leaving a smooth tin shell. Tie a string around 
each to keep it from spreading. Set them in a box or 
frame made of four boards. Fill the cans and the spaces 
between them with good friable soil, set a small plant in 
the center of each shell, sprinkle well and keep moist. 
When the plants are well grown they may be transplanted 
in the garden. Take the cans carefully out of the frames, 
grasping the cans firmly to prevent the plants and soil 
slipping out ; set them in a box or wheelbarrow and move 
them where wanted. Prepare the soil by working in a 
shovelful of well-rotted manure where a plant is to stand, 
but this is not required if the soil is rich. Dig a hole deep 
enough to set the upper rim of the can level with the 
ground, cut the string and fill up and press the soil firmly 
around the can, then by spreading the top of the can a 
trifle, it can be drawn out over the plants without disturb- 
ing the roots. If the weather is dry and warm, water may 
be used at transplanting — drawing loose soil around the 
plants after the water soaks away. 

Plants for the Field. — The above methods will produce 
plants of great size and vigor to delight the amateur. For 
a field crop it is hardly practicable to grow and handle 
plants in such an expensive way, and satisfactory results 
can be attained with much less labor. For late planting 
they may be grown in quantity in a cold frame with cloth 
cover or in a raised bed with slight protection from frost 
and sheltered from cold winds, or even on the open ground 
in frostless places. It is best to sow the seeds in drills, 
using the spaces between for cultivation and irrigation if 
needed, but many plants are often grown from the seed by 
simply thinning the seedlings as they stand, though the 
transplanted seedlings are always more thrifty and stocky. 
They have a much better root-system, and grow more 
thriftily after transplanting. Take the seedlings when 
they have come in the rough leaf, and with a small hard- 
wood stick, made pointed at one end, take up the young 



PLANTING TOMATOES. 347 

plants and dibble them in clear down to the seed leaf. 
Place them about three inches apart each way, water them 
well, and in a few days they will begin to grow, and in 
this way fine, stocky plants can be grown almost ready to 
blossom when they are set out in the open ground where 
they are to remain. There is nothing gained by setting 
out tomatoes in the open ground when they are too small ; 
if anything, time is lost by doing so, while a large, stocky 
plant has plenty of fine fibrous roots, and is rapidly estab- 
lished in its new place. ' 

Tomato plants may also be grown from stem cuttings, 
as described in the chapter on propagation. 

Planting Out Tomatoes. — In addition to suggestions al- 
ready made for planting out, it should be remarked that 
for late planting especially, and in light soils, it is de- 
sirable to set the plants quite deeply in the soil. If the 
plants are slim and "leggy" they should be shortened, 
pruning off the laterals and most of the leaves to escape 
wilting, from which it is hard for the plant to recover. 
The rule with some growers is to set the plant half the 
length of the stem deeper than it stood in the seed bed, 
and in light, dry interior soils the stem has been entirely 
buried with good results. Depth of planting depends upon 
the character of the soil and its content of moisture. 
Where moisture is to be abundant it is better to have the 
roots nearer the surface. 

Preparation of land for tomatoes should begin early in 
the rainy season, as for beans, corn or melons, to render 
the soil absorptive of moisture and to secure good deep 
tilth. Re-working in the spring, and cultivation until it is 
safe to plant out the tomatoes, keeps the soil in fine con- 
dition, saves moisture and insures a crop at minimum cost. 
Crops are often grown on spring plowing alone, but it is 
an uphill task, and attended by great risk of failure, if 
spring rains are scant, as they often are. 

Field planting is generally done by hand, sometimes at 
the intersection of cross-markings, but often with less 



348 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

care, by placing the plants firmly on the side of a fur- 
row and covering- with another furrow. Some large grow- 
ers use the transplanting machine mentioned for sweet 
potatoes, and it works well when the soil is in good con- 
dition. 

Distance depends upon variety. The usual distance is 
six feet apart each way, for the standard growers, but 
some plant more widely, even to seven and eight feet each 
way, and dwarf varieties are set at intervals of four feet. 

Summer Treatment. — Very seldom is any effort made 
even in garden culture to support the plant above the 
earth surface. As the crop is almost wholly grown Avith- 
out irrigation or with sub-irrigation by seepage from 
ditches, the earth surface is always warm and dry, and 
rot is almost unknown. The soil should be cultivated as 
long as it can be done without injury to the prostrate 
plants. Well-grown plants on rich soils almost cover the 
surface even when given the widest distances. 

It is commonly believed that excessive growth of foliage 
retards ripening and reduces fruitage. Whenever this oc- 
curs, as on very rich and moist interior soils, free cutting 
back of the plants with a scythe, is practiced with good 
results. Summer pruning of over-rank garden plants is 
also desirable, and may cause the fruit to set rather than 
drop in the blossom. 

Irrigation. — As already stated, the tomato abhors dry 
soil, and in some situations irrigation is essential. Care 
must be had against over-irrigation, especially in the coast 
region, where proper planting and cultivation will give 
satisfactory results with the natural moisture. Not only 
does excessive watering promote foilage at the expense of 
fruit which drops in the bloom, but it is apt to give a 
tomato which slices up into cart-wheels instead of firm 
and solid discs of flesh. Most growers cultivate too slackly, 
especially when irrigation water is used. 

Irrigation by flooding is sometimes successfully prac- 



TOMATO VARIETIES. 349 

ticed, but application of water which does not wet the sur- 
face under the plants is preferred. 

Picking Tomatoes. — Tomatoes for shipping should al- 
ways be picked right. For such purpose the fruit should 
be picked when slightly blushed, not by squeezing or 
pulling. Encircle it with all the fingers and twist care- 
fully, leaving the stem on the vine, or rub it afterward, 
if it parts from the vine. Do not leave the stem end on 
the fruit. Pick in shallow boxes, not in deep pails or bas- 
kets, and use two receivers ; one for perfect fruit, the other 
for culls. Do not handle the fruit roughly, even if it 
seems very firm. 

Yield. — With all conditions favorable, tomatoes make a 
very large return. Twelve and a half to fifteen tons of 
marketable tomatoes have been gathered as an average 
per acre from large tracts in Alameda county. The largest 
specimen of which the writer has record was grown in Cal- 
averas county, with the following dimensions : circumfer- 
ence, twenty-two and one-half inches ; diameter at widest 
place, eight inches ; weight, four and one-half pounds. 
Mr. Ira W. Adams reports that he grew one year one hun- 
dred and thirty-six pounds of ripe tomatoes from one vine, 
and when the frost came picked thirty-four pounds of 
green ones. This vine covered a space of nearly eight feet 
square ; it grew on the edge of a ditch used for running 
water to blackberry vines. It was an instance of ample 
irrigation by seepage. 

Varieties. — California grows all the many improved to- 
matoes with which American seedsmen have enriched our 
vegetable list, and new varieties should always be looked 
for in California seedsmen's catalogues. They always 
offer choice yellow varieties for preserving. Varieties, 
which include those commercially most prominent, are as 
follows : 

Sparks Earliana : very earlj^ tall growing; fruit large, 
smooth, scarlet ; flesh deep red, solid. 

Chalk 's Early Jewel : nearly as early ; fruit large, 



350 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

smooth, regular in form and ripening evenly; bright scar- 
let ; continuous bearing. 

Dwarf Champion : low growing, upright ; fruit medium, 
pink to purplish red, according to locality ; popular in the 
interior heat, especially at the south and in the foothills 
of central California. 

Stone : tall and fruitful ; fruit large, smooth, uniform, 
bright red, solid ; widely popular in southern California 
for market and shipping. A Dwarf Stone, resembling 
Dwarf Champion in growth is also a good shipping variety 
at the south. 

Boulder : resembling Stone, but much larger fruit : 
popular in the coast district of southern California. 

Ponderosa : a strong growing vine ; fruit very large, 
somewhat irregular and variable in color, usually light 
red ; flesh thick but not always firm ; chiefly grown in So- 
noma county for canning and market. 

Trophy : vigorous and productive ; fruit deep red, some- 
what irregular, solid and firm in the true type, with ring- 
mark at apex; chiefly grown for canning in Alameda 
county, displacing Stone. 

There is an opinion current among California growers 
that even the best of the Eastern improved tomatoes are 
still farther improved by California growing conditions if 
constant selection is practiced to preserve the best types. 
For instance the "Trophy" is very largely grown as a 
late tomato for canners' use, and planters insist upon se- 
curing California grown seed, but careless seed saving has 
given us Trophies wddely different from the true type and 
very inferior. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 
TURNIPS. 

Turnip. — Brassica napus. 

French, navet ; German, herbst-riibe ; Dutch, raap ; 
Danish, roe ; Italian, navone ; Spanish and Portuguese, 
nabo. 

Kohl-Rabi. — Brassica cauJo-rapa. 

French, choux-raves ; German, knollkohl ; Flemish, raap- 
kool ; Italian, cavolo-rapa. 

Rutabaga. — Idem. 

French, choux-navets ; German, kohlriibe ; Dutch, kool- 
raapen onder den grond ; Italian, cavolo navone. 

These members of the cabbage family are somewhat 
arbitrarily classed as turnips for convenience and in ac- 
cordance with local popular usage. Kohl-rabi has swollen 
stem, clearly above ground ; rutabaga has a swollen root 
partly above ground, partly below; the turnip proper is 
another species of hrassica, which has a swollen root and a 
manner of growth like rutabaga. In California all these 
vegetables take a much lower rank in popularity and use- 
fulness than the cabbage group of the same genus dis- 
cussed in a previous chapter ; judged as root crops they are 
inferior in use and esteem to the other esculent roots al- 
ready considered. They have no local standing whatever 
for stock purposes, for two reasons at least : they do not 
endure well our summer heat and drought, but become a 
prey to fungus and unthrift ; they will not rest and start 
again for larger root-expansion, as do the beet and the 
carrot. Such being their weakness and perversity, the 
stock feeder abandons them, which he can readily afford 
to do in view of the fact that he has many other more ser- 
viceable crops. He can have any quantity of immense 



352 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

l)(3C'ts and carrots which are making their re-enlargement 
from the previous spring sowing, to feed in the winter; he 
can have for late summer use, corn and squashes, which 
grow riotously in summer heat which distresses the turnip. 
He does well enough without the turnij), in view of its be- 
havior and his own supplies from other sources. 

The vegetables, then, which we group in this chapter, 
must be estimated alone upon their table value, and here, 
too, they are afflicted by an ill-disposition. They are not 
good keepers in this climate, and, though they can be 
packed away in sand for use during our warm, rainy win- 
ter, the people have other supplies of fresher character in 
the winter, and do not find either turnips or parsnips as 
desirable as they are in wintry countries. 

Turnips and rutabagas are then reduced to claim popu- 
larity upon their excellence as quickly grown for immedi- 
ate use when mature, and under this restriction they cer- 
tainly enjoy a fair measure of popularity. Kohl-rabi is 
very little used and its narrow fame is chiefly confined to 
citizens of French and German descent. 

Culture. — The growth of all these plants is simple and 
can be undertaken anywhere in California, providing their 
dislike of summer heat and dry air is borne in mind. The 
culture methods prescribed for the beet and carrot befit 
the turnip in the direction of preparation of soil, sowing 
the seed and cultivation. The plants are hardy against 
frost and can be successfully produced all through our val- 
ley winters. Sowing for winter use may begin early in the 
fall on irrigated ground or as soon as the rains fall. Sow- 
ing for spring and early summer can be done at any time 
during the winter when the soil is sufficiently dry and 
warm for germination and growth of the seedling. In 
valleys of heavy rainfall and frosts, February sowing may 
be best for spring use, but in warmer, drier parts earlier 
sowing is desirable. The plant needs adequate moisture 
and a moderate temperature, and its growth is a matter of 
conditions not of the calendar. It is plain, then, that tur- 



VARIETIES OF TURNIPS. 353 

nips are well adapted to winter gardening in California, 
and, if pushed to maturity rapidly, they will be found very 
tender and delicious. Sowing for succession will give tur- 
nips fresh from the soil in all their excellence through 
many months in our warmer valleys. 

Both the flat turnips and the rutabagas or Swedish tur- 
nips are grown in the same way, and both reach edible size 
very quickly under favorable conditions. Culture is like 
that advised for the radish except that they need wider 
spacing. Rutabagas are better keei^ers and more service- 
able for winter storage than flat turnips, though both are 
mainly used fresh from the ground in this State. 

Rutabagas are sometimes transplanted from a seed bed, 
as space becomes available here and there in the garden 
for them. They are handled just as cabbage plants are. 

Kohl-rabi is grown in the same way as common cabbage, 
both in starting plants and planting out. 

Varieties. — The flat turnips chiefly grown are Early 
White Dutch and Purple Top Milan — the latter being pre- 
ferred by market gardeners. The Purple Top Flat Dutch 
or Strap Leaf and Purple Top White Globe are also in 
good favor. 

Rutabagas are so little grown that there is doubt which 
has the preference of several good kinds listed by our 
seedsmen ; the Purple Top Yellow or Long Island seem, 
however, to be most popular. 

Of kohl-rabi the White Vienna is usually grown. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 
VEGETABLE SUNDRIES. 

It is not intended to make this volume a complete treat- 
ise upon the esculent plants which may be grown in Cali- 
fornia, nor to claim that it contains a complete enumera- 
tion of those which are actually grown at the present time. 
Such a task would be appalling in view of the wide adapt- 
ability of the climate and the fact that our population in- 
cludes natives of every country under the sun who have 
brought hither the plants which have delighted them in 
their old homes. Conspicuous among such contributions to 
our cultivated flora are the acquisitions from China and 
Japan, which alone would require much time to identify 
and characterize. Our acquisitions of minor vegetables 
from Europe are hardly less interesting. It must be left 
for some future student to properly arrange all these for 
public information. In the present work it has been rather 
the intention of the writer to treat the more conspicuous 
and widely useful vegetables, because in that line the 
present demand for information lies. An attempt will, 
however, be made in this chapter to briefly mention a few 
plants concerning which inquiry may arise in the minds of 
readers, and to offer suggestions on their culture. 

Capers. — Capparis spinosa. 

The production of "capers" on a commercial scale has 
frequently been mooted in California, and so far as the 
local adoption of the plant goes, anticipations of success 
seem to be well placed. The plant thrives with moderate 
moisture — enough could be conserved by cultivation on 
any fairly retentive soil. It has been growing thriftily for 
years on adobe soil in the University garden in Berkeley, 



CARDOON AND CHERVAL. 355 

and has produced prolifically the flower-buds which are 
used in pickling. The labor of frequently hand-picking 
the buds must, however, be considered in connection with 
any projected enterprise. A few plants for the home gar- 
den can be strongly commended. They can be grown in 
corners or in borders and are decidedly handsome in leaf 
and blossom. Plants may be easily grown from seed in a 
seed-box or can be multiplied by stem cuttings in a sand 
box over mild bottom heat. 

Cardoon. — Cynara cardunculus. 

The cardoon is closely related to the globe artichoke, 
and resembles it in growth except that it attains larger 
size. Its edible part is, however, the stem and midrib of 
the leaf, and not the flower bud as in the artichoke. It is 
propagated from seed and not from sprouts, and to pro- 
duce satisfactory quality, the seedling must be pushed to 
quick growth by ample manure and moisture. The car- 
doon is hardy in the coast region, and can be grown for 
autumn or spring use, or for succession at nearly all times. 
The plant is ready for use in about six months from sow- 
ing. During the last three weeks the leaves are gathered 
up, covered and blanched, and both leaves and root make 
a delicate table vegetable when carefully boiled. 

Chervil. — Scandix carefolium and ChaerophyUum hulhosum. 

There are two edible plants known as chervil, the first 
furnishes fragrant leaves which are used as seasoning and 
in salad, the second an edible root for boiling. The first is 
a hardy annual, and can be grown from seed, as lettuce is 
— sowing whenever moisture is adequate. It does not 
thrive in high heat but can be helped by shading where 
necessary. The turnip-rooted chervil resembles a carrot in 
form, and may be grown as carrots are. The seed soon 
loses its germinating power and must be fresh. 

Corn Salads. — Valerianella olitoria and eriocarpa. 

Corn salads are popular winter growing salad plants, 
and are of easy culture. The seed is sown w^henever mois- 
ture is present in the fall, and a succession of foliage can 



356 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

be had all through the raiuy season. The culture is the 
same as for lettuce. The plant also resembles lettuce ; we 
have some varieties of open growth and some Avhich are 
disposed to form somewhat compact heads of foliage. In 
this State both the French and Italian improved kinds are 
hardy in California valley winters. 

Cress. — Lepidium sativum, and Water Cress. — Nastur- 
tium officinale. 

Garden cress is easily grown all the year in the coast 
region if the ground is kept moist. The seed should be 
sown at short intervals, as the leaves come on very quickly. 
In the interior it is chiefly a winter plant, as summer heat 
checks leaf growth and carries the plant to seed. Water 
cress has grown freely in California ponds and pools, and 
was found in such places by our earlier botanists. In Cali- 
fornia it makes very rank growth, producing stems five 
and six feet high and proportionate luxuriance of leaf 
growth. It usually volunteers freely wherever water 
stands, filling road-side ditches and similar places. All that 
is needed is to prepare a place suitable for its growth. 

Dandelion. — -Leoiitodon taraxacum. 

This plant has been widely introduced on the moister 
lands throughout the State, and is used for salad and for 
boiling, as it appears in abundance after the fall rains. 
The plant is also grown to a limited extent by foreign-born 
market gardeners, and some of the improved garden va- 
rieties have been introduced for their use. It can be grown 
as lettuce is, whenever the soil carries moisture enough. 

Gherkin. — Cucumis anguria. 

This plant is different from the small pickling cucum- 
bers which are often called gherkins. It is a creeping, 
branching plant, making a dense mat of stems well laden 
with small, oval fruit covered with spine-like protuber- 
ances. It endures heat and drought well, and is very pro- 
lific even in interior situations in California. 



MUSHROOMS AND MUSTARD. 357 

Kitchen Herbs. 

It is hardly desirable to enumerate a list of culinary 
herbs. Each housewife has her own information and jire- 
ference and beyond that her cook-book is an encyclopedia. 
Suffice it to say that nearly the whole collection of plants 
grown in northern climates for fragrant leaves or seeds is 
hardy in the California winter, and most of them do best 
with earl}' sowing- — as soon as the soil is well moistened by 
the fall rains. Most failures with them are traceable to 
sowing too late, which comes from following Eastern prac- 
tice. Where the winter is quite frosty, fall sowing is less 
desirable, but with February warmth the seed should be 
in the ground. Early sowing enables the plants to secure 
good rooting, and with that, growth can be carried later 
in the dry season. Late sowing causes many a plant to 
dwindle in the summer heat even if irrigation is afforded. 
It must also be remembered that many plants must be dili- 
gently cultivated during our dry season which thrive with- 
out it in the humid summer of other countries. 

Mushrooms. 

Field growth of mushrooms is abundant during the 
rainy season in California — especially do the fall rains 
bring to view such great quantities of them that they can 
be easily gathered by bushels. The list of edible mush- 
rooms in California includes many species which afford a 
fine field of mycological epicures. Recently there has 
arisen quite a producing interest in the line of cellar cul- 
ture of mushrooms chiefiy by foreigners, and their methods 
are essentially the same that are practised elsewhere, de- 
scriptions of which are readily available. Publications on 
the subject may be had free on application to the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture at Washington which will give the 
inquirer a good outline of arrangement and methods. 

Mustard. — Sinapis sp. 

^Mustard is a grievous weed in California, especially on 
rich soils with moisture. It is also sometimes very profit- 



358 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

able as grown for a seed crop. The young plant is sought 
in the fields as a salad and improved varieties are culti- 
vated to some extent. Both the white and the large cab- 
bage-leaved Chinese kind are grown. The culture is most 
easy and simple, the treatment being the same as that of 
lettuce. 

Nasturtium. — Tropaeolum. 

Nasturtiums are largely grown as ornamental plants, but 
the desirability of the flowers for the garnishing of salads 
and the use of the flower buds and green seed for pickling 
and as a substitute for capers gives the plants place in the 
vegetable garden. They thrive almost without care or 
watering in a corner of the garden, though better growth 
will show their appreciation of better treatment. They 
volunteer freely in California from self-sown seed and con- 
tinue growth all through the frost-free season. They can 
be trained on fence or trellis or allowed free range as pros- 
trate plants if space permits ; or dwarf varieties may be 
chosen, as they bloom and fruit freely with less extension. 
They require little more from the grower than the cover- 
ing of the seed*in soil moist enough for germination. 

Okra or Gumbo. — Hibiscus esculentus. 

This popular vegetable of the south is not largely grown 
in California but can usually be had from market garden- 
ers. It requires generous moisture supply to thrive and 
does not take at all kindly to dry heat. Plants may be 
started in the winter in the ways described for the tomato, 
and the planting out and treatment is like that of egg 
plants ; or seed may be sown for later crop in the open 
ground in drills, the plants being subsequently thinned to 
about a foot apart. The plants should be well cultivated 
and kept well supplied with water. The Long Green and 
the White Velvet are the varieties chiefly grown. 

Parsley. — Apium petroselinvm. 

Parsley can be readily grown in California by the use of 
a raised bed for fall sowing for winter use and by sowing 



ROSBLLE. 359 

in the early spring for flat culture for summer use. The 
culture is like that for lettuce except that the plants need 
wider spacing and extra care has to be taken to protect 
the seed from drying out, as it is long in germinating and 
can not be deeply covered. Good firming of the ground 
after previous deep culture is desirable, and a light mulch 
will help to retain moisture and facilitate watering with- 
out crusting the ground. 

Roselle. — Hibiscus subdariffa. 

This interesting plant, resembling in its growth okra or 
gumbo, is a native of tropical Asia and Africa, and has 
been widely distributed through semi-tropical countries, 
where it has been found to possess considerable resistance 
to drought and to yield very acceptable food products. It 
has recently been introduced in California — the seed hav- 
ing been distributed by the State University. The plant is 
very ornamental, the dark red stems and pods showing 
through the rather scant dark green foliage. The flowers 
are of a yellowish white with a dark red center, two in- 
ches across and lasting only an hour or so during fair 
weather. The juice extracted from the fleshy calyces or 
husks is used with water to make an acidulous cooling 
drink, but is of most value in jelly-making. The muci- 
laginous properties of the juice render the "setting" of the 
jelly certain, with a reasonable amount of cooking. The 
dark sherry color of the jelly and the sprightly acid make 
it nearly if not equal to currant jelly. Irrigated plants 
produce a more highly colored fruit, but come into bearnig 
later. Unirrigated plants put their strength into fruit, but 
the irrigated plants start lateral branches, which ulti- 
mately produce several pods, while the unirrigated plants 
have but one pod. As the plant will endure quite heated 
and arid situations, it promises to be of much value for 
jelly-making where currants do not thrive. The plant 
should be given ordinary garden culture, sowing the seed 
when danger of frost is over. Enough of the pods should 
be allowed to ripen to yield seed for the following year. 



360 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 

Sea Kale. — Cvamhe luaritinui. 

This plant is but little grown in California, and then only 
by professional gardeners. It requires long use of the 
ground and considerable attention in provision for blanch- 
ing. Plants may be grown from seed, if it is fresh, as to- 
mato plants are grown, and planted out at about three feet 
apart each way. Plants can also be grown from root cut- 
tings as described for horse-radish, placing them about 
three feet apart each way. Plants from root cuttings 
should be allowed free growth for at least one year, and 
seedlings twice as long. Preparation for use consists in 
covering the plant with an inverted pot or box as the 
shoots appear and allowing it to make its growth in the 
dark, thus producing blanched and tender midribs. In 
cutting, the knife should go below the root crown, as new 
shoots come readily from below. Old roots are productive 
for many years if allowed to grow freely but not to form 
seed after the early growth is cut for use. 

Soy Bean. — Soja hispida. 

This plant has been tried and discarded by a number of 
growers as unthrifty in our dry summer, but good crops 
are grown on low, moist lands especially by the Oriental 
element of our population. 

Square-pod Pea. — Lotus tetragonolohus. 

This plant has recently acquired some little popularity 
in California as a table vegetable. It will make a good win- 
ter growth in some regions of the State, though a little 
spring heat is more pk.asing to it. Its culture is like that 
of garden peas, and, if sown during the rainy season, will 
bear an abundance of edible pods for early spring use. The 
pods should be gathered when young and tender and are 
cooked like string beans. 

Chinese Yam. — Dioscoria batatas. 

This climbing plant grows thriftily in California and 
sends its fleshy roots, which are the edible part, so deep 
that it seems to contemplate return to its native country. 



A FOLIAGE BEET. 361 

To get the roots one has to dig a well several feet deep, be- 
cause they are so brittle that they will stand no pulling 
whatever. With present prices of labor in this country it 
is not profitable to go into deep mining to get starchy food, 
and the plant is grown only as a curiosity. 

Chard. — Beta vulgaris. 

This plant is a beet grown for its foliage and not for its 
root which is small and branching. Its cultivation is, how- 
ever, exactly like that of the beet root, except that its root- 
ing habit allows of shallower tillage but it enjoys good 
conditions in the soil and manifests its delight by grander 
foliage which is very desirable and is used as spinach is. 
It is not largely grown in California, because conditions 
are so favorable for continual supplies of spinach, which is 
preferred. 



INDEX 



Adobe, improvement of 44 

April, work for 144 

Artichokes 172 

gathering 174 

globe 172 

growing seedlings 173 

Jerusalem 174, 176 

planting out 173 

soils for 173 

varieties 174, 176 

Ashes, value of 104 

Asparagus 177 

canning 186 

field culture 180 

garden planting 178, 180 

growing plants 178 

harvesting 183, 185 

localities for 178 

rust 186 

season 185 

soils for 176 

varieties 186 

August, work for 142 

Beans 188 

bush 202 

canning 17 

climbing 204 

drying, storing 195 

field culture 189, 194 

garden culture 201 

harvesting 195 

irrigating 205 

localities for 190 

planting 192, 194 

product 191 

soils for 191, 210 

threshing 194 

transplanting 204 

varieties for field 198 

Beds, raised 92 

Beets 206 

garden culture 206 

stock 217 

sugar 39, 209 

cultivation 212 

harvesting 214 

planting 212 

pulp 217 

season 215 

soils and situations 210 



thinning 214 

tillage for 212 

varieties 208, 217, 218 

yield 216 

Birds, killing 112 

Bordeaux mixture Ill 

Borecole 234 

Broccoli 234 

Brussels sprouts 220, 228 

Cabbage 221 

field culture 222, 226 

growing plants 224 

harvesting 226 

planting 224, 225 

soil 224 

stock 227 

varieties 227 

California climate 28 

garden calendar 140 

garden, satisfaction in 26 

soils, excellent 38 

Cans for plant growing 170 

Cantaloups 277 

Capers 354 

Cardoon 355 

Carrot 237 

field culture 238 

ridge culture 239 

soils 238 

varieties 240 

Cauliflower 221, 229 

garden culture 231 

growing plants 230 

planting 231 

varieties 233 

Celeriac 254 

Celery 244 

bleaching 252 

field culture 249 

garden culture 246 

growing plants 249 

growing plants 249 

harvesting 253 

locations 245 

soils 245 

varieties 253 

Chard 361 

Chervil 355 

Chick pea 309 



364 



INDEX. 



Chicory 255 

culture 256 

drying and roasting 257 

harvesting and curing 256 

soil 256 

yield and value 256 

Chives 303 

Ciboule 303 

Climate of California 28, 128 

coast valleys 29 

early regions 32 

frostless places 36 

interior lowlands 30 

mountain valleys 33 

plains and foothills 32 

thermal belts 30, 32 

Cloth for covering beds, etc. .166 

Cloudiness and sunshine 34 

Cold frame, the 162 

Collards 221, 235 

Corn 259 

culture 263 

ensilage 264 

locations 259 

planting 260 

soil 260 

varieties 264 

Corn salad 355 

Cress 356 

Cucumbers 266 

culture 267 

locations for 266 

varieties 269 

Cultivation (see tillage) 82 

flat 93 

garden 88 

summer 87, 136, 138 

Cuttings and layers 168 

Dandelion 356 

December, work for 143 

Ditches, irrigation 68 

Drainage in California 74 

benefits of 75 

conditions demanding 77 

not always necessary 76 

surface 76 

under drainage 77 

with irrigation 79 

Drying vegetables 17 

Earliest regions 36 

Egg plant 270 

culture 271 

locations for 270 

varieties 271 



Endive 257 

Engines, gasoline 52 

steam 52 

Farm gardens 20 

benefits of 23 

economics of 23 

profitable 24 

programmes 153 

social advantages of 25 

February, work for 143 

Fences 131 

Fertilizers in California 96 

Forcing in California 155 

Frostless places 36 

Frost, effects on vegetables... 

36, 151 

occurrences of 147 

protection 107 

Fungi, remedies for Ill 

Furrow irrigation 07 

Garden, arrangement 129 

calendar 140 

drainage 74 

essentials to success in.... 20 

horse work in 131 

insects 107 

location of 129 

place in mixed farming. ... 26 

practice, diversity in 17 

protection 104 

succession and rotation .... 

133, 140, 152 

unirrigated 47 

weeds 116 

winds and frosts 106 

work seasonable 138 

Garlic 302 

Germination, conditions for.. 157 

Gherkin 356 

Gophers 113 

Gumbo 358 

Hilling 93 

Hillside irrigation 68 

Hills, transplanting 169 

Hoe in California 89 

Horse radisn — 

Horse work, arrangement for. 131 

Hot-bed, the 163 

Hot box, the 164 

Hydraulic rams 54 

Insects, remedies for 107 

Irrigation, garden 47 

advantages of 47 



INDEX. 



365 



and drainage 

check system 

current wheels 

furrow system 

hillside 

how much 

hydraulic rams 

money value of 

must be adequate 

permanent ditch system. 

picturesque 

pumps 

raised beds 

reservoirs 

ridge system 

seepage 

siphons 

sprinkling 

sources of 

sub-irrigation 

winter 



.48, 



79 May. work for 144 

61 Melons 277 

53 cantaloups 277 

67 culture 278, 280 

67 muskmelon 277 

72 varieties 283 

54 watermelon 277, 285 

50 culture 286 

72 locations for 285 

62 harvesting 287 

66 varieties 287 

52 Mole 115 

92 Mulch, earth 84 

55 Mulching 159 

65'Mushrooms 357 

65 Muskmelons 277 

54:Mustard 357 

69i 

51 



January, work for 143 

.Jersey kale 221 

July, work for 141 

June, work for 145 

Kale or borecole 221 

Jersey 221 

Oregon 235 

sea 360 

Kerosene emulsion 110 

Kitchen herbs 357 

Kohl-rabi 353 

Leek 302 

Lentil 309 

Lettuce 272 

culture 273 

seed growing 126 

varieties 275 

Lime, uses of 44 

Manures, absorbents of 103 

animal 96 

as mulch 104 

bone 105 

composting 100, 101 

deterioration of 98 

liquid 103 

tanks for 100 

March, work for 144 

Moisture, absorption of 84 

conditions of 84 

conservation of 85, 87 

must be adequate 72 



INasturtium 358 

November, work for 143 

October, work for 142 

Okra 358 

Onions 289 

culture 290, 299 

irrigation 298 

harvesting 298 

localities 290 

seed growing 123 

seed planting 292 

sets 296 

soils 290 

transplanting 294 

varieties 300 

Orchard, vegetables in 133 



Parsley 358 

Parsnip 237, 241 

soils and culture 241 

varieties 242 

Peas 304 

culture 306 

early 306 

field culture 307 

soils and situations 305 

sugar peas 309 

varieties 308 

squarepod 360 

Peat soils for vegetables 42 

Peppers 311 

culture 312 

varieties 315 

Planting season 138 

Planting time, tables 145 

Plow, use of. 83 



366 



INDEX. 



Potatoes 316 

culture 320 

harvesting 322 

irrigation 321 

mulcliing 322 

season 318 

situations 31 

soils 319 

storing 322 

sweet 323 

varieties 323 

Propagation 155 

cold frame 162 

covering beds 166 

cuttings and layers 168 

from seed 166 

hills for transplanting 169 

hot-bed 163 

hot box 164 

seed-boxes 141 

seedlings, handling 167 

warm heap 165 

watering in 165 

Pumpkins 337 

Pumps, Chinese 52 

service of 52 

Radishes 328 

culture 328 

varieties 329 

Rainfall, occurrence of 35 

Raised beds 92 

Reservoir construction ... .49, 55 

subterranean 51, 56 

Rhubarb 331 

culture 331 

planting 332 

seedlings 332 

treatment 332 

varieties 334 

Ridge culture 65, 91 

Roselle 359 

Rutabaga 351 

Salsify 237, 243 

culture 243 

varieties 243 

Sandy soil, improvement of . . 46 

Sea kale 360 

Seed-boxes 161 

covering 157 

firming soil for 158 

mulching 159 

planting conditions of 158 



Seed growing in California. .120 

lettuce 124 

onion 123 

other seed 123, 126 

preparation for market. .. .127 

Seedlings, planting 168 

September, work for 142 

Shallot 303 

Soils, adobe 44 

alluvial 42 

deep not essential 46 

vegetable of California. ... 37 
desirable characters of.. 38, 40 

improvement of 44, 45, 46 

light soils preferred 38 

peat 42 

sediment 42 

Soy bean 360 

Spinach 335 

culture 335 

New Zealand 336 

varieties 336 

Square pod pea 360 

Squashes 337 

culture 340 

large 337 

varieties 341 

Squirrels 112 

Sub-irrigation 69 

Summer fallow 82 

Sweet potatoes 323 

culture 324 

harvesting 326 

growing plants 324 

planting 325 

storing 326 

varieties 327 



Trench irrigation 70 

Tillage, early 87 

flat 93 

for absorption 82 

for retention 84 

to release moisture 94 

with irrigation 90 

Tomato 343 

canning 17 

culture 344, 347 

growing plants 344 

irrigation 348 

localities 343 

planting out 347 

requirements 343 

varieties 349 

yield 349 



INDEX. 



367 



Turnip 351 

culture 352 

varieties 353 

Under drainage 77 

Vegetables, canning and dry- 
ing 17 

at missions 13 

by foreigners 15 

chance for Americans 15 

cheaper bought 19, 22 

climatic requirements 34 

forcing 155 

furnish capital for fruit... 11 

growing in California 9 

in your orchard 133, 308 

pioneer 9 

shipping 16 

soils for 37 

weights and sizes 10 

Vegetable sundries 354 



Water, importance of 20 

application of 61 

lifting devices 51 

requirements of soils 72 

supply, sources of 48, 51 

Watermelon 277 

Waterproof cloth 166 

Weeds in California 116 

Wells, artesian 51 

Will, water, work 20 

Windbreaks 106 

Windmills, service of 52, 65 

Winter gardening 35 

irrigation 71 

Wheels, current 53 

Work, importance of 20 

for the months 140 

seasonable 138 

Yam 360 

Year, division of garden 141 



12 f91Q 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



